Canada should be able to double its share of the world trade in red lentils, say promoters of a new initiative.
The objective of the Red Lentil Cropportunity Initiative is to increase Canada’s red lentil exports to 160,000 tonnes by 2010, which would account for 40 percent of the annual global trade of the crop.
The plan, which was unveiled at Pulse Days 2006 and has the backing of Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, calls for a significant increase in red lentil production and processing in the province.
That has some growers fearing a commodity price collapse.
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Not to worry, said Murad Al-Katib, president of Saskcan Pulse Trading, Canada’s largest red lentil splitter.
“If we have managed growth, red lentils will be between 13 cents and 17 cents per pound consistently,” he assured growers.
Al-Katib, who is predicting a 25 percent increase in Canadian red lentil acreage next year alone, said the market for reds is not as finite as it is with green lentils. Exporters can always find a home for the crop.
Canadian red lentils have been sold out seven months into the season for three consecutive years. On top of that, the Muslim holiday of Ramadan is shifting into the summer months, creating extra demand for the product.
So this isn’t a case of a company trying to boost supply and push prices down.
“There’s no advantage as the only splitter in Canada to watch (red lentil) prices go down and to risk the production that we’ve worked hard to grow,” said Al-Katib.
When asked by a grower if he was going to put his money where his mouth is in terms of contracts, Al-Katib responded that a program is in the works and should be available to hundreds of farmers by spring.
“We will be offering a contracting program to our growers from 2002-05 who contracted with our company.”
An integral part of the initiative will be to improve the milling quality of Canada’s red lentils through breeding developments, agronomic practices and grading standards.
Al-Katib said Canada’s product ranks behind Turkish, Syrian, Indian and Australian lentils when it comes to delivering yield and efficiency at processing plants.
A study undertaken by Agriculture Canada confirms that customers around the world would like to see some changes in Canada’s grading system.
The initiative is proposing the following grading changes be implemented in time for the 2006-07 crop year:
- Maximum moisture of 13 percent, compared to 14 percent for greens.
- Maximum wrinkled limit of three percent for No. 2 grade or better product, with total maximum damage count of five percent.
- Include seed staining as a grading factor to be incorporated into total maximum damage factor of five percent.
Norm Woodbeck, quality assurance standards manager with the Canadian Grain Commission, said the lentil grading system is coincidently under review.
But he said it’s not a matter of rubber-stamping the proposed changes. There are many implications that need to be considered.
For instance, while current moisture maximums are set for safe storage conditions, the proposed new limits are strictly a marketing issue.
He also noted some farmers might be leery of changing standards to include wrinkling and staining factors.
“Potentially it could mean more downgrades,” said Woodbeck.
However, he noted the changes seem to have the endorsement of Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, and if there are no strenuous objections, the new standards could be in place by Aug. 1.
Al-Katib said the new standards have to strike a balance between what the world needs and what is consistently achievable in Canada.
“I don’t want it punitive. If it’s punitive, people won’t want to grow it.”
