(Resource News International) –– Prices for edible yellow peas in Western Canada have shown some strength over the past few weeks, as export demand picks up and the buyers work to fill shipments.
Bob Lafond, general manager of pulse and special crop processor Roy Legumex at St. Jean Baptiste, Man., said there were about seven vessels scheduled to load yellow peas in November.
“There’s obviously some demand coming in from Pakistan, India, and China,” he said.
In addition to the demand, he said, firming prices in other commodities, including lentils, canaryseed and flax, were helping pull pea prices higher as well.
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“Farmers are tight holders of their product right now, and when they do that in a good demand environment it forces prices up,” said Lafond.
However, he was unsure how much more room to the upside there would be in pea prices.
Lafond noted that the harvest was late this year, which means Canada missed some of the shipping period and more shipments may be compressed into a shorter period of time.
As a result, the firm market could reverse if the demand backs away, or the growers start offering more than the market can take.
Bids for yellow peas can currently be found around $5.31-$5.75 per bushel, which is an improvement of about a dollar per bushel over the past month, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire data.
