A mission from India headed up by the secretary for Consumer Affairs, Hem Pande, headed to Mozambique Tuesday where it will discuss the issue of pulses with the local authorities, the Indian government said in a statement.

The statement from the Ministry for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, cited by the Press Trust of India, said that the “high level delegation” would explore short and long term measures to import pulses from Mozambique on a “government to government” basis.

The delegation includes officials from the Ministries of Trade and Agriculture as well as state company Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation (MMTC). A similar delegation has also been sent by the Indian government to Myanmar to analyse the possibility of importing pulses from the country.

As well as Mozambique, India also plans to explore other opportunities in African countries, such as Malawi, by leasing land to produce pulses that will later be exported to the country.

The price of these products, which include beans, lentils and peas, has been increasing in India. Production in 2015/2016 fell to 17 million tons and demand totalled 23.5 million tons. (macauhub/MZ)