U.S. expects better pea crop

There probably won’t be as much demand for Canadian peas in the United States this year due to a vastly improved crop south of the border.

The USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council forecasts 747,210 tonnes of production, with the caveat that it is a little early to be making such predictions.

That would be about double last year’s drought-reduced output.

“The production we have this year is fine,” said Jeff Rumney, vice-president of marketing with the council.

The U.S. was a major market for Canadian peas last year. It bought 380,006 tonnes in 2021-22, according to Stat Publishing.

That made it Canada’s second biggest market behind China, which bought 1.26 million tonnes.

It was a huge increase over 2020-21 levels of 92,512 tonnes, which was an impressive achievement considering total Canadian exports in 2021-22 were half of what they were the previous two years due to drought.

Rumney said the U.S. purchased so many Canadian peas because production there was also decimated by drought.

U.S. farmers harvested 387,780 tonnes of the pulse crop last year, down from about one million tonnes in each of the previous two seasons.

He noted that one million tonnes would probably be too much production in today’s market given that India is no longer importing peas.

Demand for peas is growing in the U.S. There is a long-established market for pea flour, starches and proteins in the pet food industry and emerging demand for those components in products like plant-based milk and alternative meats.

Many Canadian peas are consumed by China’s fractionation industry. The starch is used to make vermicelli noodles and the protein was typically shipped to the U.S. That all changed with COVID.

“They’re making so much money on shipping consumer retail goods that agricultural products have a harder time making it across the ocean,” said Rumney.

That is why he is grateful for North America’s burgeoning fractionation industry.

“It’s helping to backfill some of that protein that is not coming over from China right now,” he said.

Rumney provided a breakdown of U.S. pea production during a recent webinar hosted by the India Pulses and Grains Association.

Average yield is forecast at 1,700 pounds per acre, which is below the more typical yield of about 2,000 pounds per acre.

Yellow pea production is pegged at 448,326 tonnes, with greens estimated at 298,884 tonnes.

Only 142,383 tonnes of peas were on hand at the start of the new crop year on June 1, bringing total 2022-23 supply of the crop to 889,593 tonnes.

“The quality we have seen on peas has been exceptional,” he said.

“Especially for green peas, the quality is going to be really great this year in the PNW (Pacific Northwest).”

Lentils didn’t fare as well on both yield and quality. It was too wet in some growing areas and too dry in others.

“I called around to a lot of our processors and none of them said above average (yields). A lot of them said average or maybe a little bit below,” said Rumney.

He thinks lentil yields will be in the range of 1,000 to 1,100 pounds per acre.

The council is forecasting 285,325 tonnes of lentil production, which would be nearly double last year’s crop but well below the typical output of around 325,000 tonnes. Three-quarters of that production is medium greens.

Chickpea production is forecast at 200,666 tonnes, which is quite a bit smaller than average. Harvest was a few weeks late but he anticipates great quality.

Rumney told international buyers attending the webinar that pea prices are down versus the levels they were at for 2021 and the first half of 2022, so now is a good time to be contracting sales.

He also noted that the U.S. recently passed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act.

“It’s really putting a lot of pressure on the ocean carriers to treat ag exporters more fairly, he said.

That includes things like not charging excess fees and making containers available.

“We see this as having a huge impact on our ability to ship products into the export market,” said Rumney.

Tags: China, exports, United States, peas, Canada, Production, crop, demand