(Resource News International) –– The harvest of green peas has yet to begin, and early indications show it may be a stressful one for producers.
Cam Laxdal of Saskatchewan pulse crop firm Lakeside Global Grains said there are a lot of dirty crops in Manitoba, which could cause a challenging harvest.
“When there’s foreign material in there, it will thicken your canopy a bit, and there’s a bit more disease pressure from the vegetation, as opposed to a clean crop,” said Laxdal, who’s based in Winnipeg. “The date of harvest will be affected by the weed pressure. It will be a much more difficult harvest,”
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The central part of Manitoba is the closest to starting harvest, and they are still about a week or so away, he said Thursday.
The market is quiet for the moment, he added, and it has been for quite some time.
“India is not buying yet. They did come and buy some in May and June, but they’ve been quiet again now,” he said. “There’s a bit of activity in South America, but it’s been very quiet on green peas for basically 12 months running.”
Right now, Laxdal said, green peas are only about 25-50 cents per bushel higher than yellow peas — something producers aren’t happy about. Farmers are usually looking for green peas to be about $1 more than yellows, he said.
While the green pea market isn’t where most producers would like it to be, Laxdal said it could improve once the crop is harvested.
“I think they will get better (prices). I think there is some handcuff demand for green peas that hasn’t materialized yet,” he said.
In most cases, green peas are exported to Brazil and South America, Laxdal said. However, there may be other opportunities for producers this year.
“If the quality is poor and we end up with a lot of feed peas, we will end up with a lot more in Canada,” he said. “There’s some speculation that Europe will be looking for feed peas, so the feed pea prices may support the edible peas.”
