MarketsFarm — Canadian pea exports are running at a solid pace through the first two months of the 2023-24 marketing year, despite smaller production, as exports of newly-harvested supplies in September nearly quadrupled what moved the previous month.
Canada exported 440,085 tonnes of peas in September, up from only 99,645 tonnes the previous month, according to the latest international trade data from Statistics Canada released Tuesday. That took the 2023-24 marketing year total to 539,730 tonnes, which was in line with the year-ago level.
China was the largest customer, accounting for roughly three-quarters of the total. Bangladesh, the U.S. and Colombia were also major buyers. Most of the pea exports were yellow peas, with green pea shipments accounting for only about three per cent of the total.
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Canadian pea production in 2023-24 of 2.27 million tonnes was down by 33 per cent on the year, according to StatCan data.
Canadian farmers delivered just over a million tonnes of peas into the commercial pipeline as of Oct. 29, which was in line with the year-ago level, according to the latest figures from the Canadian Grain Commission.
Yellow peas are currently trading at around $10-$12.80 per bushel, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire data. Meanwhile, green peas are in the $14-$17 per bushel range.
Canadian lentil exports for 2023-24 through September came in at 247,824 tonnes, down from 397,405 at the same time in 2022-23.
Green lentil sales were relatively steady on the year, at 55,656 tonnes. However, red lentil business was down by 43 per cent, at 152,985 tonnes.
India was the largest customer for Canadian lentils through two months, accounting for 113,877 tonnes. That was actually up from the 97,988 tonnes of lentils exported to India the same time the previous year, with sharp declines in business to Turkey, Bangladesh and other customers accounting for the reduction in overall Canadian lentil exports.
Canadian lentil production in 2023-24 of 2.8 million tonnes was roughly a million tonnes smaller on the year, according to StatCan.
Red lentil bids currently top out at 40 cents/lb. in Western Canada, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire data, with large green lentils in the 60-66 cents/lb. range.
— Phil Franz-Warkentin is an associate editor/analyst with MarketsFarm in Winnipeg.
