(Resource News International) –– Edible pea prices in Western Canada have begun to improve with some of the rise linked to ideas that export demand for the commodity has to start improving soon.
“There are vessels scheduled to arrive during November to pick up edible peas, but a lot of that business was done in the May/June/July time period,” said Les Aubin of Walker Seeds at Tisdale, Sask.
Some of the improvement in cash bids for green and yellows may also be tied to the fact that producers have been reluctant to deliver unless under contract, he said.
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“To tell you the truth fresh export demand for edible peas from Canada has been slow to materialize as of late,” he said, noting India’s needs for yellow peas were well behind the year-ago level.
Data from the Canadian Grain Commission shows shipments of Canadian peas through to the end of October during the 2009-10 crop year only totals 384,400 tonnes. At the same time a year ago, Canadian pea exports were 548,300 tonnes. Canada’s pea exports during 2008-09 were 1.876 million tonnes compared with 1.635 million during 2007-08.
Of that amount, India took 1.342 million tonnes of Canadian peas, compared with 1.187 million the year previous.
The CGC stats show that at the end of October India had only bought 329,000 tonnes of Canadian peas compared with the year-ago pace of 433,000.
“There is no doubt that Canadian shippers are expecting demand from India to pick up, hopefully, in the very near future,” Aubin said.
There was speculation in the market that India’s government is urging yellow pea buyers to use up imported stockpiles first before importing additional quantities, he said.
The dealer also said that importers may also be waiting for a better indication of what kind of winter production they are going to have before making any decisions.
“India’s crops have just received some necessary precipitation, and that may have improved crop prospects there,” Aubin said, noting that it was still early in the growing season.
The larger U.S. pea crop was also believed to be absorbing some of the demand that would have normally come through Canada, he said.
Cash bids for yellow peas delivered to the elevator, based on Prairie Ag Hotwire data, currently range from $5.72 to $6 a bushel and for greens from $7.25 to $7.50.
At the end of October, bids for yellows were $4.60 to $5.31 and for greens $6.25 to $7.50.
