There's more bad news for Canada's pulse industry.

India has decided to impose a 30 per cent import duty on chickpeas and lentils, effectively immediately.

The Indian government says "production of Chana (Chickpeas) and Masoor (Lentils) are expected to be high during the forthcoming Rabi season, and  cheap imports, if allowed unabated, are likely to adversely affect the interest of the farmers."

This new import duty is in addition to the 50 per cent import duty that has been issued on yellow peas.

"This action...is not a surprise," said Pulse Canada CEO Gordon Bacon. "It has been rumored since the Government of India put an import duty on peas, which happened back in November...What we don't have from India is an understanding of what will trigger both declines in those import duties on peas and lentils, as well as what could push the import duty on lentils even higher. That uncertainty is what's really troubling."

India is Canada's top export market for pulse crops.