Pulses · guide
Pulses are dry, storable and traded on tight specifications, which makes them friendlier to ship than most food but unforgiving on moisture, foreign matter and pests. Here is the process from choosing the crop to collecting payment.
| Market | Imports | Year |
|---|---|---|
| United States | $16.5B | 2024 |
| Germany | $8.8B | 2024 |
| United Kingdom | $5.2B | 2024 |
| India | $5.1B | 2024 |
| France | $4.8B | 2024 |
| Canada | $4.1B | 2024 |
| Market | Exports | Year |
|---|---|---|
| China | $12.3B | 2024 |
| Mexico | $10.7B | 2024 |
| Netherlands | $9.7B | 2024 |
| Spain | $9.4B | 2024 |
| Canada | $6.7B | 2024 |
| United States | $5.9B | 2024 |
Figures are for the whole of HS chapter 07 (edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers). Source: UN Comtrade.
Pulses are the dried edible seeds of leguminous crops, and buyers order them by species and by form: whole or split, skinned or unskinned, cleaned or machine-sorted, polished or natural. Chickpeas, lentils, dried peas, kidney beans, mung and urad beans, pigeon peas and broad beans are all different products with different buyers, and even inside one species the size, colour and defect tolerance vary by contract.
The tariff recognises the main species. Heading 0713 covers dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split, and its subheadings separate peas, chickpeas, lentils, broad beans, pigeon peas, kidney beans and the mung and urad group, with residual lines for the rest. Decide the species and form first, because it decides the code, the buyer list, the standards and the shipping conditions.
The trade figures for this commodity are for the whole of HS chapter 07, edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers. Pulses are only one heading in that chapter, alongside fresh vegetables, potatoes, onions and others, so read the numbers as a measure of how big the vegetable trade is in each country, not of dried legumes alone.
With that caveat, the 2024 importer ranking gives you a starting shortlist: the United States at $16.5B, Germany at $8.8B, the United Kingdom at $5.2B, India at $5.1B, France at $4.8B and Canada at $4.1B. The main exporters in the same data are China at $12.3B, Mexico at $10.7B, the Netherlands at $9.7B, Spain at $9.4B, Canada at $6.7B and the United States at $5.9B. Then go to shipment records under heading 0713 to see which of those importers actually buy pulses, and which pulse.
Register the business as an exporter with your customs and foreign trade authorities, open a bank account able to handle foreign currency, and check whether a plant-health or food-business registration applies to your cleaning and packing premises. Confirm the current requirements with the responsible authority, since they change.
Pulses are agricultural, so the supply chain matters more than for manufactured goods. Decide whether you will buy from mills and processors, from farmer groups or from local markets, and in each case agree specifications in writing and keep a record of where every lot came from. Traceability is increasingly what separates a repeat exporter from a one-off shipper.
Pulses are usually machine-cleaned and graded to remove stones, husks, broken grains and other seeds, and sometimes colour-sorted. Moisture matters most: grain stored or shipped too damp can heat, mould or become infested during a long voyage, so agree a maximum and test it before loading. Send buyers a representative sample and a written specification, and keep a sealed retained sample from the lot.
Packing is normally in new woven polypropylene or jute bags, often with a liner, stitched and stacked on pallets or loaded loose into a container, or in bulk for large cargoes. Buyers may specify bag weight, print on the bag, and whether inner liners are needed. Ask the buyer how they want the goods marked, and check the destination’s rules on labelling and on packaging materials.
Stored-grain insects are the standing risk in pulses, so many consignments are fumigated before shipment, and destination authorities may require a fumigation certificate or a phytosanitary certificate confirming that the product is free of quarantine pests. Whether and how fumigation is required varies, and importers may impose their own conditions on the chemical or method used, so confirm current requirements with the importer and the plant-protection authority in both countries.
Also consider residue limits. Some destinations test pulses for pesticide residues and for mycotoxins, and a failure can mean rejection or destruction at your cost. Ask suppliers for their crop-protection history and, where practical, test the lot in advance.
Build the price from the cost of the cleaned, graded pulse, adding bagging, inland transport, port charges, certificates, fumigation, insurance and margin. Pulse prices move with crop size and season, so contracts commonly fix a quantity and a shipping window, and quotations are valid for a short period. Choose the Incoterm you can manage: FOB is the simplest for a first order, CIF if you are willing to book freight and want to show a landed figure.
For a new buyer, an irrevocable letter of credit or advance payment is the safe choice. Once you have shipped several times without dispute, consider documents against payment or open account with credit cover. Whatever you choose, match your documents exactly to what the payment instrument requires.
The core documents are the commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin where required and the plant-health and quality certificates the buyer specifies. Quality or quantity inspection by an independent surveyor at loading is common on pulses and protects both sides if a claim arises later.
After the cargo arrives, ask the buyer for feedback on grade, moisture and packing, and use it to tighten your specification. Then return to the shipment data to check who else imports the same pulse and whether smaller markets, which are less crowded, fit your volume better than the largest ones.
Dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split, are under heading 0713 in chapter 07. Subheadings separate peas, chickpeas, lentils, broad beans, pigeon peas, kidney beans and mung and urad beans, with residual lines for other species.
Often, but it depends on the destination and the buyer. Some countries require a fumigation or phytosanitary certificate. Confirm current requirements with the importer and the plant-protection authority, and keep the certificate with the shipping documents.
Use the importer ranking to shortlist markets, then search customs shipment records under the pulse heading to see named importers, origins and quantities. Publish your offer on the free marketplace and send a specification with a sample.
It is set in the contract and differs by pulse and destination. Agree a maximum in writing, test each lot before loading and record the result. Too much moisture risks heating, mould and insect damage during transit.
No. Chapter 07 covers edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers, including fresh and dried vegetables. Pulses form heading 0713 within it, so use chapter figures to size the wider trade and shipment records for the pulse itself.
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