Spot bids for large green lentils can currently be found in the 60 to 72 cents/lb. area, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire data, with new-crop contracts hitting 50 cents in some cases.

Solid end-user demand, coupled with a lack of significant farmer selling interest, was behind much of the strength in green lentils, with weakness in the Canadian dollar also supportive, according to pulse merchant David Nobbs of Purely Canada in Saskatchewan.

“Quality was really exceptional, it’s more quantity,” another Saskatchewan buyer said of the lack of farmer selling. He noted drought conditions in some lentil-growing regions had cut into supplies, with companies now raising prices to draw out more farmer sales.

Nobbs expected the supplies were ample to meet the demand going forward, but rather the general bullishness of farmers was limiting their selling.

“We’re not running out of supply, we’re not even close,” said Nobbs, noting farmers were not seeing an urgency to price at these levels. He expected there likely wasn’t much more room to the upside for green lentil prices, with more of a chance that prices would come off their highs especially as the aggressive new-crop pricing should encourage increased acres in the spring.

Red lentil prices have failed to see the same strength as green lentils, with current bids in the 36 cents/lb. area after hitting 41 cents earlier in the fall. Nobbs noted significant demand from India, but that was not translating into higher Canadian prices as Australia had a large crop providing competition.

“This is a new thing for Canada to have to compete against Australia,” said Nobbs. India will be harvesting its next red lentil crop in the New Year, he added.

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

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To Marcos Mosnaim of Export Packers, there were two central reasons for such sparse movement in lentils.

“On one side… I will say the lack of participation by farmers,” he said, noting those growers were holding back product.

The other factor Mosnaim cited was lacklustre demand at this time, although he said that from India was strong.

Mosnaim cautioned, however, that the situation could be different with other companies.

“Our company doesn’t see a huge demand that other companies are seeing because they go to different markets,” he said.

Otherwise, he said, the lentil market was rather “hand to mouth.”

Prairie Ag Hotwire reported No. 1 and 2 Laird lentil dipped one cent, while the No. 3s and X3s edged up by the same amount. Altogether, prices across the region were 52.5-65 cents/lb. delivered.

Eston lentils were unchanged regardless of size, with prices at 48.5-60 cents/lb.

Most of the Richleas bumped up a penny, except for the No. 1s; prices ranged from 49 to 62 cents/lb.

Crimsons were steady to lower, as its No. 1s and 2s were unchanged while No. 3s and X3s eased back by 0.3-1.5 cents/lb.

The French No. 1s were the outlier in the market, experiencing an uptick of four cents at 56-60 cents/lb.

— Glen Hallick reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.

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On Feb. 12, India removed an 11 per cent tariff on Canadian lentils, just seven months after reducing the same tariff from 33 per cent. On July 23, the Indian government announced that the suspension, which was set to expire on Sept. 30, was extended to March 31, 2023. Many observers believe this was done to counter rising food prices.

“It’s certainly welcome news. India’s an important market for Canadian lentils and certainly, as a big exporter of lentils, we have a vested interest in seeing markets like in India and around the world recognize the quality and consistency of our product,” Pulse Canada’s vice-president, marketing and communications, Jeff English said.

Canada exported $510.4 million worth of lentils to India in 2021, which accounted for 77 per cent of India’s lentil imports, according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).

The federal government has also since resumed negotiations with India on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and according to English, Canada’s pulse industry was a main topic in talks.

“We were encouraged to see the priorities of the Canadian pulse industry featured prominently in trade talks and we’ve been engaging with and found a willing partner in (the federal) government in trying to see that deal through to fruition,” English said.

Canada’s lentil crop this year looks closer to “normal” than that of 2021, which was devastated by drought, he noted. AAFC estimated last month that Canada will produce 2.46 million tonnes, more than 50 per cent more than in 2021-22.

“One focus for pulse growers is getting the crop in the bin. It’s not quite there yet but harvest is quickly approaching,” he said.

Another focus, he said, is “access to timely and needed rail service. In a year where we still have quite poor rail performance in terms of getting our product to port and off to export markets, what we’re focused on as we head into harvest… is to make sure that our railways know what’s coming because we’re expecting a larger crop than last year.”

— Adam Peleshaty reports for MarketsFarm from Stonewall, Man.

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The president and chief executive officer of the Regina-based company was the keynote speaker at the Grain World conference in November.

Why it matters: Consumers worldwide are turning to alternative protein sources and that creates new market opportunities for farmers.

“When I was a kid I used to say we are the breadbasket of the world. Wheat was the predominant crop in Davidson, Sask. That was something we could be very proud of. Cereals are still a massive part of our industry and continue to be, but now we got a three-crop rotation. We’ve got the ability now in Saskatchewan with lentils, chickpeas and beans to compliment the cereal rotation,” Al-Katib said.

Protein, he stressed, is the key driver in the world agricultural market.

“When we look at protein consumption, Saskatchewan and Canada I think are going to be first on what I call the protein highway. If we can successfully link that to the silk road in Asia, I think we are going to be very, very successful,” Al-Katib said.

Along with that protein highway, he said, will be massive growth in the world’s population and in turn that will lead to a fundamental change in Canadian agriculture.

“The consumer Canada will serve 10, 20 years from now in agriculture is almost completely different than the consumer we are serving today. The consumer today is based on the commodity nature of our agriculture economy. The consumer of the future is related to the $35 trillion in middle class spending in Asia.”

To meet that huge demand, Al-Katib said the world will need to produce more food than it did in the previous 10,000 years. One avenue available is increasing plant-based protein consumption. With that in mind, he stated AGT is not ‘anti-meat’ as some in the agriculture industry have portrayed the company as being. Rather, Al-Katib noted there are tremendous opportunities for pork and beef producers as well in the coming years, but noted meat-based protein alone cannot meet the growing demand.

Al-Katib said the needed changes have already been developing in Canadian agriculture, such as the growth of soybeans, lentils and chickpeas. Assisting that, he said, is the co-operation between players in the industry, such as AGT, with universities in undertaking research and development.

But Al-Katib said one cannot be confined to only science, and data analytics must be an integral part of taking a greater share of the emerging markets.

“We have to get our heads out of the sand in saying science is only all that matters. Unfortunately, I’ve become unpopular with some scientists. Consumer behavior and preferences govern my thinking,” Al-Katib said.

One area Al-Katib does see as an impediment to growing Canada’s agriculture sector is government regulation. He cited a recent report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development that pegged Canada 36th out of 75 countries when it came to regulatory competitiveness.

“The quantification was the regulatory system in our country is equivalent to an estimated seven to eight per cent tariff on small business. This is an unacceptable scenario.”

Another impediment Al-Katib pointed to was Canada’s lack of a 50-year infrastructure plan that shifts infrastructure from constantly being a political issue to becoming a national economic priority, such as was achieved in Australia.

“Infrastructure also means fast, accessible broadband Internet in the entire country. We should not be a country where if you want to be in business you have to move to a large city. As the agriculture sector wants to capitalize on a data analytics, we need modern, fast broadband. Government has to make that decision,” he said.

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