Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm — India has regained its spot as the top destination for Canadian yellow pea exports, but a looming end to duty-free imports could change trade flows in the New Year.
Canadian pea exports in September came in at 619,067 tonnes, which compares with only 16,524 tonnes the previous month, according to the latest Statistics Canada trade data. India was the largest destination, accounting for just over half of the 635,591 tonnes of total Canadian pea exports during the first two months of the 2024/25 marketing year.
Yellow peas made up 92 per cent of Canada’s pea exports so far this marketing year, with temporary cuts to India’s yellow pea import tariffs behind some of the increased demand there.
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That temporary pause on yellow pea tariffs is set to expire at the end of December after being extended in September. Indian trade policies depend heavily on their own pulse production, with Canadian yellow peas used a substitute for pigeon peas and chickpeas in the country.
India is currently in the midst of its kharif growing season, with a Nov. 5 report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare pegging total pulse production during the season at 6.954 million tonnes. That was in line with what was grown the previous year, but about a million tonnes below the five-year average. Tur, or pigeon pea, production was forecast at 3.502 million tonnes, up by about 100,000 tonnes on the year.
Chickpeas are grown during India’s rabi season, with the 11.039 million tonnes grown in 2023/24 down by 1.2 million tonnes from the previous year, according to Indian data. Early trade estimates on India’s upcoming 2024/25 chickpea crop call for another reduction.
Canadian yellow peas are currently trading steady around C$9.50 to C$11.00 per bushel, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire data.
