Lentil prices have jumped in the last few weeks, sparked by bad weather that has damaged West-ern Canada’s crop.
Dry weather has returned, allowing farmers to make harvest progress, but the crop will be a poor substitute for the one hoped for in August.
While the pulse market has concentrated on the struggles in Saskatchewan, it must be noted that India, Canada’s largest pulse customer, is about to harvest its largest summer pulse crop ever.
Acreage rose to 27 million acres from the drought reduced 22 million last year.
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Production of kharif or summer pulses in 2010-11 is expected to be six million tonnes compared with 4.3 million tonnes the previous year, according to the first advance estimate for summer sown pulses.
The monsoon season, which has delivered three percent more rain than normal, has provided good soil moisture for the winter pulse crop to be seeded soon.
It is the larger of the two seasonal crops, accounting usually for 60 percent of annual production.
The larger crop will give Indian pulse importers more bargaining power, according to a Sept. 22 column by G. Chandrashekhar, associate editor ofHindu Business Line.
“So, the message is clear – price is the key.
If overseas suppliers want to service the world’s largest import market, it is imperative they offer peas and lentils at prices that are consumer-friendly,” Chandrashekhar wrote.
So the market will have to weigh the vastly different cropping situations in Canada and India to find the right price point for pulses.
