Date:12/06/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/06/12/stories/2007061220670300.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Australia has a pulse on our diet

Staff Reporter

Did you know that we import several grams and pulses from Down Under?

Australia is one of the main suppliers of black gram (urad dal)

The price of the dal, a key ingredient in idlis and dosas, has gone up

BANGALORE: So your daily plate of idlis and dosas has become costlier? Blame it on the Australian drought. Yes, you read right.

Australia is one of the main suppliers of black gram (urad dal) and other pulses to India. And the price of black gram, a key ingredient in idlis and dosas, has shot up in the recent past.

Introduced to other tropical areas by Indian immigrants, black gram, originated in India and has been cultivated here since ancient times. And the demand for this dal is so high in India that it is imported from other countries, with Australia being one of the main suppliers.

Actually, several other grams and pulses are also imported from Australia. "Now we are not known only for exporting wheat and coal; it has gone beyond that," says Aminur Rahman, Australian Consul General and Trade Commissioner for South India.

Speaking to The Hindu on the sidelines of a seminar on "Doing Business with Australia in focus for business in Karnataka", Mr. Rahman said that following the drought there was a decrease in the yield of black gram.

"Though I cannot tell the exact extent of drop of the yield, it has fallen in the range of 30 per cent to 50 per cent," he said.

He quickly added that this was not the only reason for the high price of the dal in India. "The demand for this dal has gone up because of larger consumption and increase in population in India. We are not able to meet the increased demand," he said.