India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) successfully inaugurated the Sixth edition of The Pulses Conclave 2023

17th February 2023….As a step to realise its vision to make the Indian pulses and grains sector globally competitive and advance India’s food and nutrition security, India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) inaugurated its 3-day mega global seminar ‘The Pulses Conclave 2023’ in Mumbai.

The participation was witnessed from key stakeholders from around the world including promotional agencies, research scientists, food technologists, processing companies, value chain participants, service providers and related others are expected to congregate on a single platform to discuss in-depth current status, future trends, trade policies, sustainability and technological advances in this vital sector.

Bimal Kothari, Chairman, of India Pulses and Grains Association, said, “We must focus on exploring multiple technologies to focus on a better and sustainable yield. As we can witness a rise in incomes there is a simultaneous rise in demand for commodities as well. For promoting a better trade of staple diet cereals like pulses we need to promote sustainable policies. The pulses industry provides end number of opportunities through boosted demands and consumption. At IPGA we advocate free trade policy for better import and export of pulses. IPGA is committed to work with the policy makers for designing growth-oriented policies. Participation of next Zen start-ups and agriprenures are the highlight of this conclave”.

P. K. Singh, Agriculture Commissioner, Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, “Indian agriculture industry is well versed to have a fantastic production in the coming time. Our estimates say we had a production of 26.69 Billion Tons of Pulses in 2021-22. In India almost one-third of the population is vegetarian and they are heavily dependent on pulses for fulfilling their protein requirements. Even for the non-vegetarian population, pulses form a major part in their daily diet. Thus pulses become highly essential in production as good consumption on daily basis”.

Rohit Kumar Singh, IAS, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, said, “As policymakers, it has been our priority to maintain a balance through better trade policies between the interest of consumers and producers. India’s pulses production has been growing up with time. It is important to have a consistent policy to protect consumer interests and ensure transparency in terms of trade policies”.

Hon’ble David Marit, Minister of Agriculture, Saskatchewan Province, Canada, said, “Sustainability is the largest focus for crop production for our government and industry. Pulses occupy 16 percent from the total production in 2021. Canada’s net carbon production is 50 percent lower than global competitors. We are pleased to see India providing guidance regarding stability in the marketplace that benefits everyone. It is great to see Canada and India officially relaunch negotiations towards comprehensive trade agreements last year. This will lead towards mutually signed agreements towards aiming benefits and sustainability”.

 The Pulses Conclave 2023 showcased the latest products, processes and equipment, bringing together several hundred delegates from over 20 countries to create a grand knowledge-sharing and networking opportunity

Hon’ble Mr. David Marit, Minister of Agriculture in Canada’s Saskatchewan province actively participated in the Conclave along with his delegation. In addition, there was a large number of consular corps from different countries with which India trades.

TPC 2023 attracted stakeholders across the entire value chain including large Processors, branded Players, trading houses, trade Intermediaries Exporters, Importers, as well as service providers like Indenters, Warehousing Companies, Custom House Agents, Shipping Companies, and so on. We believe, value-added products from Pulses have an exponential growth potential that can be harnessed in India, and it will go a long way to deliver twin benefits of augmenting farmers’ income and advancing nutrition security. Over 600 delegates across countries are participating.

In addition to being the staple food for many, Pulses find application in the food processing industry in making soups, sauces, bakery products, meals, snacks and confectionery products for health-conscious consumers. Healthy ready-to-eat plant-based gluten-free snack foods are becoming increasingly popular with consumers in the country. An important subject for discussion at the Conclave was plant-based food products from pulses as it is an emerging sector having the potential to grow exponentially.TPC 2023 is the 6th edition of the unique biennial event and is themed ‘Sustainability of Pulses Sector’ as its major focus is to tackle the adverse effects of climate change on pulses and grains production. TPC 2023 endeavours to foster healthy relations among Indian market participants and between India and all associates overseas.

About IPGA: India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), the nodal body for pulses and grains trade & industry in India has over 400 direct and indirect members which include individuals, corporates as well as Regional Pulses Traders and Processors Associations taking its pan-India reach to over 10,000 stakeholders involved in the farming, processing, warehousing, and import business of Pulses across the entire value chain. IPGA’s vision is to make the Indian pulses and grains industry & trade globally competitive and in so doing, help advance India’s food and nutrition security. IPGA takes the onus of essaying a leadership role in the domestic agri-business and plays a more proactive role in the global domain to foster healthy relations among Indian market participants and between India and all associates overseas.