Indian restaurants and corner grocers in the United States are complaining about a lentil shortage that has doubled retail prices for the product in recent months.
But North American pulse growers shouldn’t get too excited by the prospect of a new domestic market for their crops.
“The buyers want lentils that are India-branded lentils,” said Pete Klaiber, director of marketing with the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council.
He said there has been a misconception that there is a country-wide shortage of lentils because papers like the Boston Globe and the New York Times have been carrying the story.
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“The bins are not empty. It’s just that if you want a certain type and a certain brand, you’re not going to be able to get your hands on it,” said Klaiber.
Earlier this summer India placed a temporary ban on the export of pulses to curb soaring domestic prices for the staple. The ban is in place until March 2007.
Lentils are available from alternative suppliers in Canada and the U.S., but many ethnic store owners say their customers prefer the taste of Indian product over North American grown lentils.
Even if they were willing to substitute, it wouldn’t generate more than a small blip in overall demand for the crop.
The small Indian grocers and restaurants scattered across the U.S. only import an average of 4,500 tonnes of lentils a year from India. North American pulse growers harvested 909,500 tonnes of lentils in 2006.
“It’s not so big,” said Klaiber.
Murad Al-Katib, president of Saskcan Pulse Ltd., Canada’s largest red lentil splitter, has noticed a slight increase in North American demand but it still amounts to only two to three percent of the company’s overall sales program.
“Our sales volumes are up into the domestic market but certainly not the prices,” he said.
Ethnic retailers forced to switch to North American lentils are unwilling to pay a premium for what they consider inferior product.
Al-Katib said that perception has to be overcome if Canadian pulses are going to make any inroads into markets in North America, which is one of Pulse Canada’s new objectives.
Many consumers are convinced they get superior taste and faster cooking times when using lentils from India and Turkey.
“This is a prevalent comment,” he said.
But Al-Katib contends Canadian split red lentils offer superior quality. They are not contaminated with yellow and green lentils or speckled cotyledons.
“Give Canada a few more years and the world will continue to recognize we can compete head-to-head on taste, quality and price,” he said.
In that respect the export bans in India and Pakistan have given Canadian pulse exporters an excellent opportunity to showcase their product in nontraditional markets.
“We are supplying Canadian processed red lentils, split peas and split desi chickpeas to a market like New Zealand,” said Al-Katib.
