Bids for peas in Western Canada will likely move higher in the coming months, thanks to lower supplies and strong exports, says an analyst with Mercantile Consulting Venture.
Posted prices for yellow peas have recently been in the $6.50 to $7 per bushel range, but as part of this Pulse School episode filmed last week, Marlene Boersch says she’s expecting values could reach $8.
She notes pea production was down this year, and exports are off to a very strong start: “We’ve had extremely good shipments into India during the fall, China has been lagging behind a bit, but overall, per CGC (Canadian Grain Commission) numbers as of last week, we’re at 153 percent of last year’s exports and we had pretty good exports last year because China was front-end loaded.”
“$7.50 was paid for small volume last week, but it’s in my opinion a harbinger what’s going to come,” she says.
There’s less upside for lentil prices, as prices rose with concerns about quality at harvest, notes Boersch.
“I think for the higher grades there’s not that much room to go,” she says. “I think we should be careful not to let the lower grades go at very low prices, because I think we’ll need all the volume. I see a firm market going forward — not soaring, but certainly a firm market for lentils as well.”
Boersch shared her outlook for the pea and lentil markets at Farm Forum in Saskatoon last week: