Canada to be world’s biggest pea producer
Canada is expected to become the largest pea producer in the world this year.
After playing second fiddle to France recently, this country’s farmers take centre stage. Statistics Canada is forecasting a 40 percent increase in pea acreage and a 20 percent increase in production.
The area seeded to peas has grown by about 400 percent during the 1990s.
An associated good news story is the way the Canadian hog industry is adopting the crop into its rations. It makes a great feed when mixed with canola meal and displaces corn and soybean imported from the United States.
Read Also
USDA’s August corn yield estimates are bearish
The yield estimates for wheat and soybeans were neutral to bullish, but these were largely a sideshow when compared with corn.
Domestic consumption has grown from 461,000 tonnes in 1996-97 to a forecasted 850,000 tonnes in the coming crop year. That means about a third of the crop will be consumed domestically.
With the hog herd expected to increase, and work continuing to promote peas in cattle and poultry rations, the domestic market should continue to grow in importance.
But for now, about 65 percent of the crop is exported – 40 percent to feed markets, mostly in Europe, and the rest to the human market in Asia and Latin America, according to Agriculture Canada.
With a record crop anticipated this year, there is a lot of interest in pea buyers.
It is speculated that a deep drought in India’s western and central regions has hurt its pulse crop production.
A drought in 1997-98 caused India to jump to the head of the line of Canadian pea buyers. It bought almost $79 million of peas from Canada in 1998, almost double the amount it bought the year before. Last year it bought about $49 million worth of Canadian peas.
Pakistan has also been a big buyer of Canadian peas and it too is suffering intense drought.
The situation in southwestern Asia will worsen significantly if today’s dry trend affects the summer monsoon season. Early observations by Indian scientists show this drought could become worse than the devastating one of 1987.
While this indicates potential for increased demand, don’t count on rapidly rising pea prices.
Asian buyers are price conscious and will substitute other types of vegetable protein if pea values are too high.
And there should be lots of competing soybeans, given American seeding intentions and the current South American harvest.
But if exports to Asia can be increased, it will help control pea ending stocks.
