India is a processing hub, not an origin

This section matters more in lentils than in any other pulse, and most sourcing pages leave it out.

India is the world’s largest importer of lentils. The country took in roughly 1.51 million tonnes in 2023, and Australia has overtaken Canada as the leading supplier — Australia shipped 366,433 tonnes to India in the first seven months of 2024 alone. India also grows its own masoor, but domestic production does not come close to meeting domestic demand.

What India offers the export market is processing capacity: importing whole lentils, splitting them, polishing and sortex cleaning them to consistent grade, and re-exporting as value-added split masoor dal. The mills are efficient, the grading is consistent, and transit times into South Asia and the Gulf are short.

The honest consequence for a buyer: “Indian masoor dal” usually describes where the lentil was processed, not where it was grown. That is a normal and legitimate structure — but if your label, your customer’s specification or your country-of-origin declaration depends on the growing origin, put it in the contract explicitly and ask what documentation supports it. A supplier who is comfortable with that question is the one to work with.

Polishing: the treatment that must be declared

Split lentils are commonly polished to improve gloss and appearance. There are three positions, and they are not interchangeable.

Specify one of the three explicitly in the contract and require the status declared on every lot certificate, not once at supplier approval. Where oil polishing is used, the oil must be named — it becomes an ingredient in your finished product and may carry allergen or labelling consequences in your market. This is the clause most often missing from lentil contracts and most often argued about afterwards.

Glyphosate: the residue that travels with the raw material

Lentil residue risk has a structural quirk that follows directly from the processing-hub model.

Pre-harvest desiccation is practised in some major lentil-growing origins. Where it is used, glyphosate residue is present in the raw whole lentil — and it travels into India, through splitting and polishing, and into the finished dal. Indian processing neither creates that residue nor removes it.

Specify glyphosate explicitly against your destination’s limit rather than relying on a generic multi-residue panel, require the result on the shipped lot, and ask which origin the raw material came from. A processor who can answer both questions without hesitation is running a traceable operation.

Product forms

Whole green and brown lentils are graded by size in millimetres, in the same way as kabuli chickpeas. As with chickpeas, a size grade needs a screen tolerance to be enforceable — state the percentage permitted to pass the next smaller screen.

Reference specification

Colour is worth a note. Split red lentil is at its brightest orange-red when fresh; it dulls with age and storage. Because the split product is sold largely on appearance in retail packs, specify colour against a retained sample and state the processing date, not just the crop year.

Weevil and storage

Lentils are vulnerable to pulse beetle, which develops inside the seed and can be invisible at loading but obvious on arrival, since an infestation present as eggs or larvae continues to develop through a long voyage. Specify insect-damaged seed as its own line, require live insects nil, and require fumigation with method, dosage and exposure stated. Confirm that the fumigation method is accepted at your destination.

Documentation

• Importer Exporter Code from DGFT; APEDA registration; FSSAI licence
• Certificate of analysis: purity, moisture, foreign matter, broken, damaged and weevilled, colour reference, size and screen tolerance for whole lentils, with test date
• Polishing declaration stating unpolished, water polished, or oil polished with the oil named
• Raw material origin declaration where your specification requires it
• Glyphosate result and full pesticide residue report against the destination list
• Aflatoxin, ochratoxin and heavy metals reports where required
• Phytosanitary certificate and fumigation certificate stating method, dosage and exposure
• Weight and quality certificate from an independent surveyor at load port
• Certificate of origin; preferential origin documents where a trade agreement applies
• Non-GMO and allergen statements; halal certification where the market requires
• Commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading declaring HS 0713.40 — confirm the eight-digit national sub-heading with your broker

Packing, loading and transit

Indian crop and policy

India’s own masoor is a rabi crop, sown from October and harvested from February into April, with Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Rajasthan the principal producing states.

Pulses trade policy in India moves in both directions and is used to manage domestic supply — import duties on lentils have been adjusted repeatedly in recent years. Confirm the current import and export position with DGFT at the point of contracting, and include a policy-change clause covering unshipped balances in any term contract.

How to qualify an Indian lentil supplier

1. Ask where the raw material comes from before discussing price, and whether they can document it.
2. State your polishing requirement — unpolished, water polished, or oil polished with oil named — and get the answer in writing.
3. Ask for a glyphosate result on a recent shipped lot, not just a generic residue panel.
4. Establish whether the counterparty operates its own mill and sortex line or buys finished dal and repacks.
5. Request a retained colour sample and agree colour against it, with the processing date stated.
6. Agree the fumigation method and confirm it is accepted at your destination.
7. Agree independent surveyor inspection at load port, naming the surveyor.

Frequently asked questions

Is Indian masoor dal grown in India?

Often not. India is the world’s largest lentil importer, and much exported dal is Australian or Canadian whole lentil split in India. Specify growing origin in the contract if your label depends on it.

Oil polished or unpolished?

Three positions exist — unpolished, water polished, and oil polished. Specify one explicitly, and where oil is used require the oil to be named, since it becomes an ingredient in your finished product.

Which residue should I watch?

Glyphosate in particular, because pre-harvest desiccation in some growing origins puts residue into the raw lentil, and Indian processing neither creates nor removes it. Specify it explicitly and ask about raw material origin.

How much loads into a container?

Around 25 to 26 MT in a 20-foot container, weight limited. Use kraft lining and desiccant against container sweat.

What forms can you supply?

Whole red lentil, malka masoor, split red lentil, football lentil, and whole green and brown lentils by size. Retail packing to your artwork from one full container load.

What is the HS code?

HS 0713.40 for lentils. Confirm the eight-digit national sub-heading with your broker.

• Often not. India is the world’s largest lentil importer, and much exported dal is Australian or Canadian whole lentil split in India. Specify growing origin in the contract if your label depends on it.
• Three positions exist — unpolished, water polished, and oil polished. Specify one explicitly, and where oil is used require the oil to be named, since it becomes an ingredient in your finished product.
• Glyphosate in particular, because pre-harvest desiccation in some growing origins puts residue into the raw lentil, and Indian processing neither creates nor removes it. Specify it explicitly and ask about raw material origin.
• Around 25 to 26 MT in a 20-foot container, weight limited. Use kraft lining and desiccant against container sweat.

The honest consequence for a buyer: “Indian masoor dal” usually describes where the lentil was processed, not where it was grown. That is a normal and legitimate structure — but if your label, your customer’s specification or your country-of-origin declaration depends on the growing origin, put it in the contract explicitly and ask what documentation supports it. A supplier who is comfortable with that question is the one to work with.