Pea sales have been solid in the first two months of 2023-24, but lentil exports are down so far from last year
Canadian pea exports are running at a solid pace through the first two months of the 2023-24 marketing year, despite the smaller production, as exports of newly harvested supplies in September nearly quadrupled what moved the previous month.
Canada exported 440,085 tonnes of peas in September, which was up from only 99,645 tonnes the previous month, according to the latest international trade data from Statistics Canada released Nov. 7. That took the 2023-24 (August-to-July) marketing year total to 539,730 tonnes, which was in line with the year-ago level.
China was the largest customer, accounting for roughly three-quarters of the total. Bangladesh, the United States and Colombia were also major buyers. Most of the pea exports were yellow peas, with green pea shipments accounting for only about three percent of the total.
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Canadian pea production in 2023-24 of 2.27 million tonnes was down by 33 percent on the year, according to StatCan data.
Canadian farmers delivered slightly more than a million tonnes of peas into the commercial pipeline as of Oct. 29, which was in line with the year-ago level, according to the latest figures from the Canadian Grain Commission.
Yellow peas were trading at $10 to $12.80 per bushel last week, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire data. Meanwhile, green peas were in the $14 to $17 per bu. range.
Canadian lentil exports for 2023-24 through September came in at 247,824 tonnes, which was down from 397,405 tonnes at the same time in 2022-23. Green lentil sales were relatively steady on the year, at 55,656 tonnes. However, red lentil business was down by 43 percent, at 152,985 tonnes.
India was the largest customer for Canadian lentils through two months, accounting for 113,877 tonnes. That was up from the 97,988 tonnes of lentils exported to India the same time the previous year, with sharp declines in business to Turkey, Bangladesh and other customers accounting for the reduction in overall Canadian lentil exports.
Canadian lentil production in 2023-24 of 2.8 million tonnes was roughly a million tonnes smaller on the year, according to StatCan.
Red lentil bids topped out at 40 cents per pound in Western Canada last week, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire data, with large green lentils in the 60 to 66 cents per lb. range.
