A Regina pulse processor is expanding its global reach.
Agtech Income Fund, which operates Saskcan Pulse Trading, Agtech Processors and United Pulse Trading through the operating company Alliance Pulse Processors Inc., has signed a memorandum of understanding with Harvest Grain Australia PTY.
The Australian company, which processes lentils, fababeans, broad beans and chickpeas, owns two cleaning and processing lines and more than 7,000 tonnes of silo storage.
Murad Al-Katib, chief executive officer of Alliance and Saskcan, said the deal should close by the end of September, which is when the purchase price will be revealed.
Read Also
Interest in biological crop inputs continues to grow
It was only a few years ago that interest in alternative methods such as biologicals to boost a crop’s nutrient…
“We, in the past, have been competing to take a share of the export market from Turkey and Australia,” he said. “We decided to invest and take a share.”
Australia is among the top five lentil exporters in the world and its proximity to the Indian sub-continent’s large market makes it an attractive origin, he said.
Ninety-five percent of Australian lentil exports are red but Al-Katib said that doesn’t mean Canadian growers should back away from red.
“We can’t lose sight of one concentrated fact and that is that 80 percent of the world’s consumption is red,” he said.
Canadian growers have shied away from red lentils in the past but plantings of red and green lentils are now about equal.
Prices for both are strong, beginning the season at about 23 cents a pound, and he said there are profits to be made.
The company encourages growers to specialize in either green or red as they plan their crop rotations to ensure consistency and solidify Canada’s position as a reliable supplier of red lentils.
A successfully closed deal in Australia means Alliance Pulse Processors will own six plants in three countries. Saskcan in Regina is still the epicentre of the operation, Al-Katib said.
The deal will make Agtech the world’s largest exporter of split and processed lentils, peas and pulses to the food and ingredient market. Agtech trades on the TSX Venture Exchange. Share prices hovered around $5 for most of the last year and began to climb in June. The biggest gain was posted this month when the price shot from $7 Sept. 1 to $10.50 Sept. 12.
