While most edible pea prices have declined in recent years, one niche market has performed nicely.
“There has been good demand for marrowfats,” said Wes Walker, merchandiser for Walker Seeds Ltd., a large special crops processor in Tisdale, Sask.
The crop has returned higher values than green and yellow peas for the past three or four years due to production problems in Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, the three major exporting nations.
But with acreage levels expected to rise in 2005, the party could soon be over.
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“We are already seeing the demand for marrowfats soften quite a bit,” said Walker.
New crop contracts are offering $7 per bushel delivered, compared to old crop prices in the $8.50-$9 range.
Marrowfat peas are sold primarily into Asian markets where they are used as a snack food ingredient in countries like Japan, Thailand, China, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Canada typically produces and exports in the range of 10,000-14,000 tonnes of the pulse.
That compares to 5,000 tonnes of annual production in New Zealand and 20,000 tonnes in the U.K., where more than half of the crop is consumed domestically in the form of a traditional dish called mushy peas.
Walker expects western Canadian farmers to plant close to 20,000 acres of marrowfats in 2005, which represents the high point for a crop that can drop as low as 10,000 acres.
Acreage has been on a slow and steady incline but there is little room for expansion because markets for the specialty product are limited.
Most of the 2005 acreage will be contracted to the four companies that handle marrowfat peas in Canada, including Walker Seeds, which typically moves 35 to 50 percent of the total production volume.
Some growers have done well spot pricing the commodity in recent years but that is a risky game, said Walker.
“In years where the peas become oversupplied they are very difficult to move without contracts.”
Marrowfats are generally no different to grow than green and yellow peas, but farmers can expect the crop’s yield potential to be 20Ð25 percent lower.
When it comes to harvesting and storing, the crop has to be treated gently like beans because physical appearance is the key to its marketability.
Powdery mildew is a chronic problem. Walker Seeds has worked with a private breeder for the past five years to develop new varieties resistant to the disease.
The first such variety is being released to certified seed growers this year and should be commercially available to producers in another two or three years.
