Mozambique’s Institute of Cereals (ICM) has brought forward the start of its pigeon pea exports to India, which imports almost all of the country’s production of the legume.
According to ICM, an entity of the Ministry of Economy, pigeon pea exports are only expected to start after September 30 but a decision was taken last week to begin exports immediately.
Exports of the product are regulated by an agreement between the two countries based on India’s needs and quantities exported in the previous year.
“For objective reasons related to the process of controlling stock variations in the warehouses of exporting companies, an assessment was carried out in which we found considerable quantities available for export,” ICM said in a letter to the industry.
Lusa News Agency reports that the letter authorises exports of pigeon peas to be “effective immediately” on August 5.
In 2023, Mozambique exported more than 230 000 tonnes of pigeon peas – 90% to India under the 2023-2026 memorandum of understanding between the governments.
In October 2024, the legume export sector faced controversy involving the ETG conglomerate – one of the country’s main pigeon pea exporters – when it demanded, in an arbitration court, that Mozambique pays more than €100 million in compensation for losses resulting from the judicial seizure of the firm’s assets in a dispute.
The assets were seized at a port in the north of the country.
In May this year, ETG threatened to appeal to international arbitration courts regarding its dispute over pigeon pea exports.
