Pulses: Criticality

Why pulse prices can sway Indian politics

What this tab covers How exposed economies are to a supply disruption: the EU, US and India listings, the concentration score, and a quantified exposure for the US, EU, India, China, Japan, Latin America, the Middle East and Australia. Where the EU scored it, a chart of supply risk against economic importance, with import reliance, recycling input and substitutes.

Exposure by region

Region	Exposure	Share of world output	Share of world imports	Share of world exports	Net trade (US$)	On own critical list	Position
US	Low	5.2%	4.0%	8.9%	+$803.5 m	No	Producer of dry beans, lentils and peas and an exporter with 8.9% of world pulse export value in 2024 (UN Comtrade).
EU	High	0.0%	9.7%	6.2%	−$473.9 m	No	Not among the top six exporters or importers; France and others grow peas and faba beans mainly for feed (UN Comtrade 2024).
India	Medium	22.7%	34.1%	5.1%	−$4.26 bn	No	Largest producer (26.2% of world output in 2024, FAOSTAT) and largest importer (34.1% of world import value, UN Comtrade), with imports of 7.34 Mt in FY2025.
China	High	2.1%	8.6%	2.1%	−$952.4 m	No	Second-largest importer of pulses (8.6% of world value in 2024, UN Comtrade).
Japan	High	0.0%	1.3%	0.0%	−$200.0 m	No	Not among the top six traders of pulses in 2024 (UN Comtrade).
Latin America	High	0.4%	9.1%	6.8%	−$291.7 m	no list	Mexico imports 4.1% of world pulse value, and Argentina and Brazil grow dry beans (UN Comtrade 2024).
Middle East	Medium	2.3%	2.3%	0.0%	−$340.9 m	no list	Turkey is both an exporter (8.1%) and importer (6.7%) of pulse value, and grows 5.1% of world lentils (UN Comtrade; FAOSTAT 2024).
Australia	Low	16.0%	0.0%	15.1%	+$2.38 bn	No	Second-largest exporter (15.1% of world pulse export value) and producer of 13.4% of chickpeas and 16.0% of lentils (UN Comtrade; FAOSTAT 2024).

Exposure rating: High when the region is a net importer whose import share is at least three times its share of world output (or, for farm goods, it produces under 70% of what it consumes); Medium for other net importers (or 70-95% self-sufficiency), raised to High when world supply is highly concentrated in another country; Low for net exporters or self-sufficient regions. Net importer status uses tonnage where reported, otherwise value. Output: FAOSTAT, 2024. Trade: UN Comtrade 2024 (EU = sum of member states, including intra-EU trade). Critical lists: US 2025, EU 2024/1252, India 2023, China 2016 strategic minerals, Japan METI, Australia 2024.

Pulses are on neither the US 2025 nor the India 2023 critical list, but they are a food-security staple in South Asia, supplying much of the protein in vegetarian diets. Radetzki and Wårell note that base foods such as pulses rarely raise supply-security worries in rich countries, because import dependence there is low. India is the exception: the largest chickpea grower is also the largest importer of dried pulses, so pulse prices are political. Concentration matters too. Chickpeas depend on India, and lentil exports on Canada and Australia, so drought in any of them moves world prices.

EU 2023 Not assessed US 2025 list No India 2023 list No Production HHI 1,837 moderately concentrated