Red lentils might turn out to be one of the few bright spots in a gloomy seeding season so far plag-ued by wet weather and poor price prospects.
Over the past few weeks, prices have strengthened as red lentil crops in other parts of the world wither from drought.
International buyers are watching Canadian red lentil production closely. It’s the second year farmers here have grown significant quantities of the crop, said Brian Crane, general manager of CanCom Grain Co. Inc. And farmers are showing considerable interest because of price prospects.
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“They can probably make some pretty decent money on it,” said Crane.
He’s excited about potential for the crop, which doesn’t compete with long-established markets for the 800,000 to one million acres of green lentils farmers traditionally grow here.
“It’s a whole new area of market growth for the pulse industry,” said Crane.
India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are major red lentil consumers. The Indian subcontinent produces much of what it consumes, said Crane, but its harvest was smaller than expected when it came off in February and March.
Major exporters in the Middle East, including Turkey and Syria, are now having drought problems before harvest in June and July.
Jim Rempel, a lentil buyer with Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, said Syria’s crop may only be 40 percent of its normal size. Turkey reports it has a good crop, but the trade is skeptical because there are few offers from exporters, he said.
“It’s difficult to get any kind of real accurate information out of that part of the world, period, Turkey especially,” Rempel said, explaining red lentil fields are small and spread over a large area.
Last summer, Turkey suggested it had harvested its largest crop in seven years, and offered cheap prices for buyers after harvest.
But Rempel said Turkish exporters withdrew from the market within a month because the country had produced only about half its normal crop.
New-crop prices have strengthened by 10 to 15 percent over the past month, said Rempel.
Crane said prices have moved to $440 per tonne from $370 per tonne earlier this spring.
Jeff Ward, Alberta Agriculture’s special crops analyst, said spot prices to growers for Crimson lentils increased to about 21 cents per pound in mid-May from 16 cents per lb. in early April.
But the strong prices won’t last forever.
The Australian crop will come off in November and December, followed by the Indian subcontinent crop in February and March.
Rempel said farmers should take advantage of the “window of opportunity” in the fall, and market their red lentils right after harvest.
Crane agreed farmers need to pay attention to world red lentil production and supplies for marketing signals.
He sees good selling opportunities from harvest to early December, but thinks prices may decrease afterward if Australia has a good crop.
Last year, prairie farmers planted about 180,000 acres of red lentils. Estimates for this year range from 200,000 to more than 300,000 acres, most in Saskatchewan.
“Being a new crop, people don’t have a very good handle on acreage or production,” said Ray McVicar, special crops specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture.
Rempel said growing conditions are not ideal. There is too much moisture in most areas. By May 20, he estimated only 30 percent of the crop was in the ground.
