Earlier this year, StatCan projected some 400,000 planted acres of chickpeas in 2024/25. The year before about 315,500 acres were seeded.

The vast majority of chickpeas are grown in Saskatchewan, with StatCan expecting more than 360,000 acres, up from the 272,200 in 2023/24. The remainder of trackable amounts will be planted in Alberta at around 39,700 acres, down from the 43,300 put into the ground last year.

“The general consensus is acres are up,” Young stated, noting StatCan’s data has been fairly accurate when it comes to chickpeas, with an acceptable margin of error.

He also expects production to increase due to the good conditions on the Prairies although the cool, wet weather has delayed chickpea development by about a week. He said the earlier planted chickpeas should begin to flower around the Canada Day long weekend.

“It’s not concerningly late by any means. It’s what I would call the late end of normal crop development-wise,” Young said. “The fear is that when we turn into July that there will be some hail.”

Should that occur, Young pointed out that would further delay the chickpeas by about an additional week or two. In turn that would raise the possibility of frost damage.

“An early September frost would certainly downgrade the quality,” he noted.

In the meantime, Young said chickpea growers have been taking good care of their crops with already one or two applications of fungicide to ward off the potential for diseases.

“The anxiety when you grow chickpeas begins when you treat your seed and it doesn’t stop until you cash your cheque,” Young joked.

Chickpea prices have dipped according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. The Kabulis regardless of size have shed a penny, with the largest sizes going for 41.8 to 44 cents per pound as of June 24. The B-90’s were also down a penny at 26.5 to 27.8 per cents/lb. while the Desi number ones were steady at 27.8 to 33 cents/lb.

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Lentils are expected to see the largest acreage increase, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Prospective Plantings report, released March 28, which forecast a 39.5 per cent increase in seeded area to the crop on the year at 762,000 acres. If realized, that would be the largest lentil acreage in the U.S. since 2018, and well above the five-year average of 586,000 acres.

“We still have to get it in the ground… but growers are certainly responding to fairly strong pricing for all pulses,” said Tim McGreevy, CEO American Pulse Association and the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council in Idaho on the expected acreage increases in all pulse crops.

“Lentils in particular are fairly priced, and wheat is not,” he added, noting given average yields, lentils would have the highest returns of all the pulses.

Lentil stocks are on the tighter side worldwide, while India has dropped tariffs on U.S. lentils which has contributed to the strength in that market, according to McGreevy. However, seed availability could be a limiting factor on the increase. Weather conditions through the growing season will also be important to watch going forward, especially as many regions remain on the dry side.

While rotational issues often mean that increases in one pulse crop can come at the expense of other pulses, McGreevy pointed out that all the major pulses grown in the U.S. are expected to see an increase in seeded area this year.

Chickpea acres in the U.S. are forecast to increase by 15.2 per cent on the year, at 429,000 acres, according to the USDA. That would be the largest acreage base since 2019.

Edible bean planting intentions at 1.316 million acres would be up by 11.5 per cent from 2023, with about half of the intended acres slated for North Dakota.

Pea area in the U.S. is forecast to increase by about one per cent on the year, at 974,000 acres.

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

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Most chickpea varieties dropped three cents per pound during the week ended March 22, reducing increases from last year, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. Statistics Canada projected 400,311 seeded acres for 2024, 84,015 more than last year.

Jake Hansen from Mid-West Grain Ltd. in Moose Jaw, Sask. said uncertainty over yield and quality from India, one of the largest buyers of Canadian chickpeas, is responsible for the recent weakness in the market.

“It’s always difficult to judge what India is actually producing. Typically speaking, this time of year is when India comes to market with their chickpea crop,” Hansen said. “There always seems to be a little bit of a lull this time period because India’s production is hitting the market.”

He added that he has seen prices fall by more than three cents/lb. recently.

“(One company) was offering 54, 55 (cents/lb. for Kabuli chickpeas) a month ago, maybe five weeks ago. We just recently bought (product) at 48, 49 cents delivered,” Hansen said. “The market’s soft. It’s quiet.”

While domestic movement of chickpeas are faring well, exports are “falling off a cliff”, according to Hansen.

“We’ve got two containers here, two containers there, etc. all through the spring and summer, but exports have significantly slowed down,” he said.

Looking ahead, Hansen warned that any excitement about more chickpea acres this spring in Western Canada may be tempered by quality issues.

“Our thought process is there will be more acres planted in 2024 … But if the yield isn’t any better, or it falls off because of a drought and it’s worse, then who’s to say we don’t have similar quantities in the grain bin than we did in 2023?” Hansen asked. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is projecting a miniscule 5,000-tonne carryout for chickpeas at the end of 2023-24, which compares with 28,000 tonnes the previous year.

He said that timely rains in April and June, as well as a dry fall will create ideal growing conditions for this year’s chickpea crop.

“It’s going to be a waiting game on Mother Nature (as to) what she gives us,” Hansen said.

—Adam Peleshaty reports for MarketsFarm from Stonewall, Man. 

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Canadian lentil area is forecast to be up by 4.4 per cent on the year, at 3.829 million acres, according to the estimates of principal field crops report released by Statistics Canada on March 11. After conducting a survey of producers in December and Janyar, StatCan forecast pea area in 2024 at 3.122 million acres which would be up by 2.4 per cent on the year.

Average pre-report expectations for both of those major pulse crops had called for even larger acreage increases, given the prospects for relatively favourable returns and lower input costs compared to other options.

Large green lentils are currently trading at some of their highest price levels of the past year, topping out above 80 cents per pound in some locations, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire data. New crop pricing is in the 55 to 57 cents per pound area. Red lentils have lagged their green counterparts to the upside, with spot bids and new crop pricing both around 30 cents per pound or slightly higher.

Spot bids for large calibre kabuli chickpeas can be found as high as 55 cents per pound, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire, with new crop bids around 45 cents per pound.

Chickpea area is forecast to hit its highest level since 2018 at 400,000 acres, which would be up by 26.8 per cent from the 315,500 acres seeded in 2023.

Area seeded to edible beans is forecast to increase by 12.8 per cent, hitting 359,000 acres. However, of that total, coloured beans are forecast to be up by 20.8 per cent at 297,100 acres, while white (navy) bean acres are projected to come in at their lowest level in 13 years at only 61,800 acres.

Nearby prices for white beans top out at 54 cents per pound, while black beans are trading over 70 cents per pound and pintos are trading in the 54 to 57 cents per pound area.

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

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Only lentils saw an increase, rising slightly by 0.4 per cent from 2021-22 to now 4.32 million. Meanwhile, dry peas fell 11.8 per cent at 3.37 million aces, with edible beans down 32.1 per cent at 297,000.

Chickpeas pulled back 4.2 per cent at 177,800 acres and fababeans dropped 45.7 per cent at 72,300.

However, Mike Jubinville of MarketsFarm Pro stressed a notable element in the StatCan surveys: their timing meant the numbers provided by farmers are what they hoped to plant in 2022 and may not be what they actually seeded.

“We will not know further acreage-loss changes until December, but I believe that total number is roughly 1.5 million acres,” Jubinville said.

He spread that 1.5 million mostly between spring wheat and canola each, accounting for 500,000 acres, and expects dry peas to lose another 100,000. Pulses such as lentils and chickpeas were seeded in a timely fashion, so he’s not expecting any notable changes for those.

Other pulses, such as fababeans and edible beans, may have lost some planted acres due to the soggy soil conditions throughout the Red River Valley in Manitoba, he said.

That said, he pointed to another factor on which the markets will focus.

“The market sentiment will be all about yields, getting bigger or smaller than previous ideas,” he said.

— Glen Hallick reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.

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The stability is mainly due to a global supply glut, with large carryout volumes from previous years combined with high acreage numbers in Canada, the U.S. and Australia.

Statistics Canada estimated Canadian producers will dedicate just over 300,000 acres to chickpeas, nearly double from two years ago. However, 2019 acres are down about 32 per cent from 2018, in which 442,900 acres were planted.

“All in all, inventories have gone down a bit, but with a new crop coming in there’s going to be more than substantial amounts for sale worldwide,” said Darwin Hamilton of Kalshea Commodities in Winnipeg.

Chickpea prices are slightly higher than at the beginning of 2019, though just hovering between the 25 and 30 cent per bushel range.

Hamilton predicted prices will remain steady — largely due to the fact that India’s large market doesn’t currently accept Canadian pulses.

Late monsoon rains in India threatened the nation’s pulse crops, which provided a sliver of hope that Canada could crack back into the market.

However, as monsoon rains have settled into India, “the outlook to move volumes into that market doesn’t look that good again,” Hamilton said.

— Marlo Glass writes for MarketsFarm, a Glacier FarmMedia division specializing in grain and commodity market analysis and reporting.

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Seeded acres for chickpeas almost quadrupled between 2017 and 2018, rising from 160,000 to 442,900, respectively. Since inventory from the 2018 growing season is still high, 2019 will only see approximately 300,000 seeded acres.

“A lot of farmers grew chickpeas in 2018, because we all grow on last year’s pricing,” explained Melody Ector, president of Diefenbaker Spice and Pulse at Elbow, Sask.

Prices began to decline during the 2018 harvest, and have yet to recover. Chickpeas aren’t the only pulse that is suffering — most pulse prices have declined thanks to a soured trade relationship between Canada and India.

“It’s hard for a farmer to know what to grow, because everything is down,” said Ector.

“Prices aren’t favourable for really any pulses. So you just have to pick one and hope for the best.”

Chickpeas are currently trading between 24 and 25 cents/lb., and aren’t expected to bounce higher any time soon.

Despite a weakened international appetite for Canadian chickpeas, food market trends in North America are warming up to the bean’s versatility.

Chickpea flour, a long-time staple in Indian cuisine, is a gluten-free alternative found in many popular recipes on high-profile cooking websites. Similarly, aquafaba, or whipped chickpea liquid, can be used as a vegan replacement for egg whites.

“There’s lots of research and development on pulse proteins and pulse flour, but it takes a while to develop the market,” Ector said.

“I would think it’s going to increase in popularity every year, but it’s going to take time.”

— Marlo Glass writes for MarketsFarm, a Glacier FarmMedia division specializing in grain and commodity market analysis and reporting.

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“Acres are going to be down this year because the price isn’t what it was a year ago,” said Melody Ector, president of Diefenbaker Spice and Pulse at Elbow, Sask.

Prices dropped significantly in 2018 from the 60-cent/lb. range they saw in the spring, falling by about 40 per cent after harvest, said Darwin Hamilton of Kalshae Commodities in Winnipeg.

However, Hamilton believes that despite tumultuous prices, acreage across Canada will increase.

“With all the political issues going on in the world, chickpeas are one of the few crops that are returning farmers a little more money right now,” he said.

“I would say chickpea acreage will only be up by about 10 per cent.”

When it comes to prices, because Canada produces a small fraction of the world’s chickpeas, “we’re more of a price taker or a price follower,” Ector said.

“Lots of other countries grow chickpeas, we’re just one of them.”

Current chickpea contracts are trading around the 25 cents/lb. range. Hamilton expects those prices to correct to about 35 cents, and higher next spring, though not to as high as in spring last year.

Since India placed tariffs on a host of Canadian pulses, exports to India have fallen significantly.

Hamilton predicted chickpea prices will be buoyed by the North American market, including the pet industry.

“That will cause prices to even out. If we see good-quality chickpeas, there will be an opportunity in the fall.”

— Marlo Glass writes for MarketsFarm, a Glacier FarmMedia company specializing in grain and commodity market analysis and reporting.

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“Acres are definitely going to increase significantly,” said Colin Young of Midwest Grain at Moose Jaw. He expected to see a doubling in area from the 135,000- to 165,000-acre chickpea crops planted in recent years.

Seed supplies won’t be an issue to reach that 300,000-acre mark, as the hot and dry growing season in 2017 resulted in exceptional seed with high germination and no trace of disease.

“Given the availability of seed and given the bleak outlook for other pulse crops, chickpeas look to be a good alternative,” said Young.

While peas and lentil prices declined over the past few months following India’s introduction of tariffs, the chickpea market has stayed relatively strong.

The crop also fares better in the drier conditions that are persisting in the major chickpea growing regions of Saskatchewan, Young said.

While their area may double, chickpeas are still a small crop in the bigger picture. Young didn’t expect to see too many new growers; rather, producers who have grown the crop in the past are reintroducing them to rotations.

Production contracts were going for over 40 cents/lb. earlier in the winter, but are now in the mid- to high 30s, said Young.

Russia, the U.S., Argentina, Turkey, India and other growing regions have all responded to the relatively favourable prices with increased acres.

With chickpeas “an island of stability in the pulse world,” Young expected increased seeded area worldwide will eventually weigh on prices.

“Chickpeas are volatile and difficult to grow everywhere,” he said, noting crop failures are always possible wherever the crop is grown.

Smaller-calibre peas have the most competition, and lower prices, with a premium on sizes nine millimetres and up.

Traditional buyers for Canadian chickpeas include the Indian sub-continent, North Africa and the Middle East. There’s also a growing North American demand for chickpeas as a food ingredient.

The U.S. pet food industry has also created a market for lower-quality smaller seeds in recent years.

“We went from feeding hog barns at five to six cents a pound, to pet food products, at a grower level, at 17 to 30 cents/lb.,” said Young, noting the downside for chickpeas is being mitigated by the U.S. pet food market.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Glacier FarmMedia company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

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Due to its own domestic chickpea shortage, Turkey recently announced it was temporarily lifting import tariffs on chickpeas.

Turkey has bought Canadian chickpeas in the past, but the country typically wants nine- and 10-millimetre kabulis, which, after the poor quality and yields of 2016, are not available from Canada.

“With the incredible market in the fall, the vast majority of all forms of chickpeas are gone; pet food, human consumption, it’s just all gone,” said Colin Young of Midwest Grain in Moose Jaw.

On top of terrible quality, the yields were significantly lower than average, said Young, adding “the only good-quality stuff being held back is for planting seed.”

While there is little old-crop business going on anymore, new-crop chickpea prices look relatively solid compared to other pulse options, such as lentils.

Growers would like to plant more chickpeas, Young said, but the acres would be capped by seed supply.

“The outlook for chickpeas looks very favourable, especially compared to lentils,” said Young, adding “if there was an abundance of seed, I believe chickpea acres would be very strong, but because the planting seed is very restricted and the quality is marginal, we won’t see an expanded acreage in Canada.”

A growing market for chickpeas from the pet food market has created a price floor, taking the bottom-end risk out of the market, said Young.

As a result, “the biggest risk growing chickpeas is just getting them in the bin,” with average yields needed to make money.

Canadian farmers planted 168,000 acres of chickpeas in 2016, producing an 82,000-tonne crop, according to Statistics Canada data.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

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