The largest buyer of Canadian red lentils wants changes made to grading standards.
Saskcan Pulse Trading Inc. says existing Canadian Grain Commission rules do not account for wrinkling and staining of kernels, two quality problems commonly found in Western Canada but rare in other lentil production regions.
Company president Murad Al-Katib said wrinkling and staining cause significant headaches for splitting facilities, yet under the current system, a No. 1 sample could contain 75 percent wrinkled seed.
Wrinkling should also be a downgrading factor for green lentils, he said. They are usually packaged whole and wrinkling gives them an undesirable appearance, making them tough to sell.
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“There wouldn’t be a single packager in the world that could utilize that product as No. 1.”
Raymond Craswell, a red lentil grower from Strasbourg, Sask., can see Al-Katib’s point but thinks he may face a tough sell when it comes to convincing other growers it is the right thing to do.
“It’s probably one more thing that farmers aren’t going to be happy with.”
Craswell said lentil standards have already evolved to the point where it has become difficult to make the top grades.
“This might be another thing to make it tougher. It’s going to be hard to get a No. 1 or a No. 2.”
Al-Katib recognizes that adding new lentil grading factors is a “delicate balance” that must be handled carefully.
“When you tighten the grading standards too much it becomes punitive and growers will not want to grow the particular commodity.”
But he said change is necessary because while local processors like Saskcan have made the necessary adjustments to deal with this type of damaged product, splitters in other countries are unfamiliar with how to handle wrinkled and badly stained seed.
With 80 percent of world lentil consumption in reds and 80 percent of Canadian production in greens, there is room to substantially expand the domestic red lentil industry, said Al-Katib. Before that can happen, product quality must improve.
Al-Katib plans to seek processor consensus on the proposed grading changes at Pulse Days 2005 in Saskatoon and bring them forward through the western grain standards committee for consideration by the Canadian Grain Commission.
The lentil issue was raised at a Dec. 8 industry forum sponsored by Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, which attracted about 60 representatives of the processing sector.
During the same meeting, processors were also given an update on the producer security issue.
The grower association is working with the Canadian Grain Commission to develop an alternative to the existing licence and bonding system that would still meet the requirements of the Canada Grain Act.
“We actually have a meeting with the grain commission next week and our hope is that we will finalize that,” said Garth Patterson, executive director of Saskatchewan Pulse Growers.
He said they are “really close” to unveiling a new form of producer security but before it is announced, it will have to be approved by buyers, processors and growers sitting on the Industry Security Committee.
“I would be very disappointed if we did not have something in place here for the next crop year,” said Patterson.
The grower group also informed processors attending the forum about a new feature on its website that allows growers to check how current each pulse buyer is in submitting producer check-off dollars.
“I’m happy to say that right now all are in good standing with us,” said Patterson.
