Seasonal movement off the lows of the pea and lentil markets hasn’t resulted in much beyond sideways movement, says Chuck Penner, founder of Leftfield Commodity Research, based at Winnipeg, Manitoba. But there are some differences between red and green lentils and yellow and green peas.
The challenging harvest weather in Australia is playing a significant role in several Western Canadian crop markets, including red lentils. “It did cause bids here in Western Canada to spike, two or three or four cents a pound, but even that has kind of backed off again,” Penner says.
Part of the reason for that is the start of the planting season in India, as it’s kicking off with some pretty good soil moisture due to longer than usual summer monsoons. Penner says that could mean red lentil acres climb, with peas and chickpea acres pulling back.
“Depending on the kind of year they have, we might actually see later and maybe into ’23, we might actually see some easing on those import restrictions on peas, but I wouldn’t bet on it. I would say the odds are probably less than 50 per cent right now, but there’s at least maybe a glimmer of hope there, too,” Penner says.
Record lentil exports from Australia. And for the 4th straight year, more exports than production (somehow). pic.twitter.com/c42GfoYg0h
— Chuck_Penner (@LeftFieldCR) November 4, 2022
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