Reading Time: 2 minutes India’s sudden decision to impose an immediate 50 per cent duty on pea imports has Canadian pulse officials scrambling to find answers — and figure out what comes next. “This sort of moves us beyond even where India has been before in pulse import duties… more than a decade ago we were at 10 per […] Read more

Out of the blue — India’s tax on peas hits growers here
India is our top customer for pulses but the pea tax and ongoing fumigation issue make for ‘a challenging situation’

Italy demands origin labels for pasta, rice
Rome | Reuters — All packets of pasta and rice sold in Italy will have to include labels of origin showing where the produce was grown, the government ruled on Thursday, a move aimed at protecting local farmers. The agriculture and industry ministers signed a decree ordering the new labelling policy, saying it would run […] Read more

Argentina halts Europe-bound rice ‘impregnated with cocaine’
Buenos Aires | Reuters — Argentine customs agents found about 30 kg of cocaine hidden in a way they had never seen before when drug-sniffing dogs found the drug had been absorbed into grains of rice headed for Europe via Africa, an official said on Wednesday. The bust underscores the role Argentina has come to […] Read more