Tight Canadian lentil carryout expected

Tightest lentil stocks since July 2010 forecasted

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Published: December 19, 2023

,

Harvested Saskatchewan lentils. (Bobloblaw/iStock/Getty Images)

Glacier Farmmedia – Canadian lentil stocks are forecast to be extremely tight by the close of the 2023/24 marketing year, which should keep prices well supported despite expectations for a smaller export program.

Updated supply/demand estimates from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada pegged lentil carryout for the current crop year at only 50,000 tonnes, which would be a third of the previous year’s ending stocks and down from the already-tight November forecast of 100,000 tonnes. If realized, that would mark the tightest lentil stocks since July 2010, with a stocks-to-use ratio of only three per cent.

Read Also

Detail from the front of the CBOT building in Chicago. (Vito Palmisano/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. grains: Wheat futures rise on supply snags in top-exporter Russia

U.S. wheat futures closed higher on Thursday on concerns over the limited availability of supplies for export in Russia, analysts said.

The tighter stocks forecast came despite an upward revision to production from Statistics Canada, with the government agency recently raising its call on 2023/24 lentil production to 1.671 million tonnes from 1.542 million tonnes. That would still be down from the 2.301 million tonnes grown the previous year.

Lentil exports are forecast at 1.600 million tonnes, which would be up by 200,000 tonnes from the November forecast but down by 27 per cent on the year.

Large green lentil bids currently top out at 73 cents per pound in Western Canada, with new crop contracts already available as high as 51 cents per pound, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire data. Red lentils are currently priced around 35 to 40 cents per pound, with new crop pricing around 30 cents per pound.

Phil Franz-Warkentin is an associate editor/analyst with MarketsFarm in Winnipeg. 

About the author

Phil Franz-Warkentin

Phil Franz-Warkentin

Editor - Daily News

Phil Franz-Warkentin grew up on an acreage in southern Manitoba and has reported on agriculture for over 20 years. Based in Winnipeg, his writing has appeared in publications across Canada and internationally. Phil is a trusted voice on the Prairie radio waves providing daily futures market updates. In his spare time, Phil enjoys playing music and making art.

explore

Stories from our other publications