Pulse crop average; trade down in India

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Published: April 11, 2002

India’s official estimate of pulse production confirms what many

traders already know – it was an average year.

The world’s biggest producer and consumer of pulses harvested 13.8

million tonnes of peas, lentils, chickpeas and beans in 2001-02. That

is up 14 percent from last year’s drought-reduced 12.1 million tonne

crop.

Indian farmers grew seven million tonnes of beans, 5.3 million tonnes

of chickpeas, 880,000 tonnes of lentils and 570,000 tonnes of peas.

It’s a far bigger crop than last year, but an average crop otherwise.

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“The numbers are interesting but we just deal with the facts and right

now there is very, very little trade with India,” said Agricore United

trader Rob Tisdale.

India is always looking for more pulses to augment its own production.

There are one billion mouths to feed in the country and pulses are a

staple of their diet.

But Canadian farmers who are waiting for Indian buyers to drive up

prices should forget about it.

“What happened last year is when the buying normally dropped off, it

didn’t.”

This year’s trade with India has already ground to a halt. Tisdale

doesn’t expect it to be looking for more product until May or June.

“They’ll try to bite into the new crop as soon as possible.”

About the author

Sean Pratt

Sean Pratt

Reporter/Analyst

Sean Pratt has been working at The Western Producer since 1993 after graduating from the University of Regina’s School of Journalism. Sean also has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan and worked in a bank for a few years before switching careers. Sean primarily writes markets and policy stories about the grain industry and has attended more than 100 conferences over the past three decades. He has received awards from the Canadian Farm Writers Federation, North American Agricultural Journalists and the American Agricultural Editors Association.

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