News > Day Two > India's appetite for pulses expected to continue
Indian markets look to Canada for their pulse needs, according to Chris Chivilo of W.A. Grain and Pulse Solutions.

Chris Chivilo of W.A. Grain and Pulse Solutions gave farmers a global field pea market outlook at Farm Tech. -- Alexis Kienlen photo

Chivilo, based at Innisfail, Alta., says India has produced between 12 million and 15 million tonnes of pulses for the last 15 years, and this is not likely to change.

The country is currently Canada's biggest customer for pulses and its government's mandate is to import more pulses to feed its population each year.

The average pulse crop in Western Canada is about 30 bushels an acre and this continues to remain stable, Chivilo says.

Since 2006-07, Canadians have used fewer pulses than they have produced and they have been building stocks since 2007-08. Chivilo estimated the pulse crop to total about 3.75 million acres in Canada this year.

There are some variables that could impact the pulse market, Chivilo says. France and Ukraine could produce more peas. France, for example, will be offering greater subsidies for producers who decide to grow protein crops.

These competitors will not increase their exports into India and China, which are Canada's main markets, but they could cut into the markets of the European Union.

U.S. pulse production, meanwhile, is solely based on that country's subsidy programs. Americans will not be increasing their acres and the majority of their crop goes to Africa as food aid, so they are not a competitor for the Canadian market.

Chivilo guesses yellow peas will be rangebound between $5.50 and $6.25 for the rest of the year, and that means high-quality green peas will have a premium over yellow in upcoming years.

-- Alexis Kienlen is a field editor for Alberta Farmer in Edmonton.