Pulse Weekly: Yellow peas slip as India pauses levy cut

Prices for yellow peas on the Canadian Prairies eased while those for green peas remained stable in early October said broker Levon Sargsyan of Johnston’s Grains in Calgary.

Sargsyan explained yellow pea prices increased when India slashed its import duties 10 months ago.

“I know there are targets for higher prices right now, but I’ve noticed that prices have backed off a little bit this week,” he said.

The broker quoted yellow peas at C$10.50 to C$11 per bushel, down from C$11.50 to C$12 as the India market is something of a question mark. The country’s government planned to end its levy reduction at the end of October.

Read Also

Federal government pledges more than $13 million to animal health, disease readiness

National animal health and disease preparedness has received an influx of more than $13 million in federal cash. The money will be split between AHC’s three divisions: Emergency Management, the National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) and the Canadian Animal Health Surveillance System.

“You need adequate time to get the product into India,” Sargsyan said. “That import window could be extended. I think if there is an extension … we could see renewed demand and maybe another bump in the price.”

As for green peas, the broker stated their price have remained firm at about C$15 to C$15.50/bu.

Canadian pea exports for 2023/24 totaled 2.40 million tonnes versus 2.57 million the previous year, according to Statistics Canada. Of the 2023/24 total, just over a third went to India after the country acquired none the previous year. That surge to India compensated for reduced exports to Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

StatCan reported a sharp decline in pea exports for the first month of the 2024/25 marketing year. Only 16,539 tonnes were shipped out of Canada in August compared to 99,643 the previous August, with India accounting for 1.6 per cent of the total.

– With files from Phil Franz-Warkentin, Glacier Farm Media