Importing Pulses into Pakistan: What Fumigation Does Customs Require?

Yes, pulses such as chickpeas and lentils need mandatory fumigation before they clear customs in Pakistan. The accepted treatments are methyl bromide at 1 kg per 1000 cubic feet for 48 hours, or 36 g/m3 for 48 hours, or 72 g/m3 for 24 hours, or phosphine at 1.1 g/m3 for 96 hours. Whichever treatment is applied, it has to be endorsed on the phytosanitary certificate that travels with the shipment. Miss that endorsement and the consignment gets held at the port, not released.

This post walks through the fumigation rates Pakistan accepts, the extra disease check that applies to chickpeas, why Australia dominates the supply chain, and what an importer needs ready before a vessel arrives.

What fumigation rate does Pakistan require for pulses?

Pakistan's phytosanitary import requirements set out three equivalent methyl bromide dosage options for chickpeas and other pulses, according to Pakistan's reporting obligation filed with the International Plant Protection Convention: 1 kg per 1000 cubic feet for 48 hours, 36 g/m3 for 48 hours, or 72 g/m3 for 24 hours. Phosphine gas at 1.1 g/m3 for 96 hours is accepted as an alternative.

Whichever option the exporter uses, the treatment must be recorded and endorsed on the phytosanitary certificate issued by the exporting country's plant protection authority. A certificate without that endorsement is incomplete from Pakistan's Department of Plant Protection point of view, and incomplete paperwork is one of the most common reasons bulk grain sits at the port past its free days. If you are new to how that certificate fits into the wider import chain, our guide to the seed import permit and DPP Form-1 explains how DPP paperwork works for plant-origin cargo generally.

Related commodities carry their own specified rates. Beans require methyl bromide at 4 lbs per 1000 cubic feet for 24 hours at a temperature of 25 to 32 degrees Celsius, and wheat requires phosphine at 3 grams of active ingredient per cubic meter retained for 21 days, according to the same reporting filing. The table below lines these up for comparison.

Do chickpeas face any extra disease requirement beyond fumigation?

Yes. Since 2018, chickpeas for consumption entering Pakistan have carried an additional condition tied to Ascochyta blight (Ascochyta rabiei), a fungal disease of the crop. Australia's Department of Agriculture export industry advice notice 2018-09 explains that Pakistan requires consignments to be certified free of the disease.

Exporters meet that requirement one of three ways: an area-of-production freedom certificate, a laboratory test analysis report based on ISTA guidelines, or, failing either of those, mandatory methyl bromide fumigation or moist heat treatment of the consignment. Because Ascochyta blight is widespread across chickpea-growing regions, area freedom certification is often hard to obtain in practice, which is why so many consignments end up going through methyl bromide fumigation anyway. Australia's government has since asked Pakistan to review that condition to better match it to the actual biosecurity risk, but the fallback options above remain what exporters use in the meantime.

Why does so much of Pakistan's pulses supply come from Australia?

Australia is the world's largest chickpea exporter, and Pakistan is one of its two biggest buyers. In the 2022-23 season, Pakistan took 55% of Australia's chickpea shipments, about 372,800 tons, at an average export price of USD 578 per ton, compared with Canadian chickpeas at USD 718 per ton, a meaningful price advantage that keeps Australian supply competitive into Pakistan.

The trade relationship was formalized further in 2021, when technical negotiations between the two governments improved market access for Australian canola, chickpeas, lentils, and wheat. Pakistan agreed to approve methyl bromide fumigation of chickpeas and lentils and phosphine fumigation of wheat, which Australia's agriculture minister said at the time reduced costs and gave exporters more flexibility, while bringing Pakistan into line with the fumigation rates already accepted by Australia, India, and Bangladesh. That alignment matters practically because it lets the same treated cargo transship across the region without re-fumigation. In that same year, Australia's agricultural exports to Pakistan grew 35% to USD 194 million, with chickpeas alone worth USD 102 million.

What should a pulses importer prepare before the vessel arrives?

Getting a pulses shipment through Karachi Port or Port Qasim without delay comes down to paperwork that matches the treatment actually applied to the cargo. Work through this sequence before the vessel sails:

1. Confirm with your supplier which fumigation option they are using: methyl bromide at one of the three accepted rates, or phosphine at 1.1 g/m3 for 96 hours.
2. For chickpeas specifically, confirm whether the consignment carries an Ascochyta blight area-freedom certificate or lab test, or whether it has instead been fumigated or moist-heat treated to satisfy that condition.
3. Check that the phytosanitary certificate names the treatment, dose, and duration exactly, since a mismatch between the certificate and the accepted rate is grounds for a hold.
4. File your import declaration and any Department of Plant Protection requirements through the normal channel ahead of arrival.
5. Arrange quarantine inspection and sampling at the port, budgeting for the possibility of a re-fumigation order if the certificate is incomplete.

Rates and accepted treatments do shift. Pakistan changed its accepted canola treatment mid-2025, moving from methyl bromide to phosphine and back within a few months, so a rate that cleared last season is not guaranteed to clear the next one. Our companion post on importing canola and oilseed for the crushing industry covers that specific back-and-forth. For a broader look at how plant quarantine inspection works once cargo reaches Karachi, see our guide on plant quarantine inspection at Karachi.

Olympic Agencies has cleared agricultural cargo, seeds, fertilizer, and agricultural machinery, at Karachi Port and Port Qasim since 1982. We handle the phytosanitary certificate checks and Department of Plant Protection coordination that pulses shipments need under our customs clearing service. Send us your fumigation certificate and consignment details on WhatsApp and we will confirm it meets the accepted rate before your cargo lands.

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• Importing Palm Oil into Pakistan: From Malaysia and Indonesia to Port Qasim
• Importing Spices into Pakistan: Turmeric, Cumin, Red Chilli, and the Regulatory Maze
• Importing Tea into Pakistan: How the World's Largest Tea Importer Sources and Clears Its Supply
• Why Pakistan's Oilseed Crushers Depend on Imported Canola
• Pesticide Import and Registration in Pakistan: Forms 1, 16, and 17 Under the 1971 Ordinance
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