Glacier FarmMedia—India’s extension of tariff-free pea imports last month has caused a rise in Canadian prices, according to a Saskatchewan pulse merchant.
Delivered green pea prices in Western Canada ranged from C$16.50 to C$20 per bushel on May 13, up 50 cents from last month and up C$5.50 from last year according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. Yellow peas ranged from C$11.64 to C$14/bu., up C$1 from the month before and up C$1.20 from the year before.
Shawn Madsen, operations manager for Southland Pulse Inc. located northwest of Estevan, Sask., said demand from India for Canadian yellow peas since last winter, and the resulting reduced carryout, are major reasons for rising prices.
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“When we started to get a lot of interest and demand, shipping instructions had to be in place and things moved by early January. People feared that it was going to be cut off again,” Madsen recalled. “In the end, it wasn’t. It was extended and then extended again … Now, it’s gotten to the point where it has really depleted stocks.”
Meanwhile, green peas were also being purchased with greater frequency, but it was more driven by speculation, according to Madsen.
“There were a lot of companies that were shipping green peas and (those peas weren’t) necessarily in India yet, but there was the potential that they were going to be,” he said. “Now, we’re getting low on those stocks as well.”
As of March 31, pea stocks in Canada totaled 716,000 tonnes, less than half from the previous year’s figure of 1.471 million, according to Statistics Canada. On-farm stocks fell from 1.117 million tonnes to 487,000 one year later.
Despite delays and interruptions to seeding due to rain, the replenished soil moisture will benefit potential pea crops, Madsen added. He expects a slight upward shift in acres this year and timely rains would be key towards typical yields.
“This is the Prairies, though. So we’re always three weeks away from a drought it seems. But currently, things are looking pretty promising and we’re looking forward to another great year coming up here,” Madsen said.
—Adam Peleshaty reports for MarketsFarm from Stonewall, Man.
