The Indian government has raised its import tariff for chickpeas from 30 per cent to 40 per cent. The government said Tuesday in the Gazette of India the increased tariff is to be imposed immediately, with existing circumstances making it necessary. Chickpea prices have continued to fall over the last six months, according to reports […] Read more

India raises chickpea import duty to 40 per cent

Pulse weekly outlook: Farmers selling ahead of road bans
CNS Canada –– Pulse crop producers in Western Canada are looking to sell what’s left of last year’s crop before spring. Farmers “need to get some cash flow going. They’ve got payments probably in February and March and then they want to beat the road bans,” said Allan Johnston with Johnston’s Grain at Welwyn, Sask. […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Pulse acres on downswing
CNS Canada — Pulse prices in Western Canada showed some movement during the week ended Tuesday, but mostly hung rangebound as India’s import restrictions on Canadian pulses continued to hold the market in check. Yellow peas fell 25 cents to a range of $5.75 to $7 a bushel. Green peas held steady at $7.50-$8.50 a […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Australia makes progress with India, Canada waits
CNS Canada –– Pulse crop prices in Western Canada are holding steady while questions remain about the future of trade with India. India in November imposed a 50 per cent import tariff on peas and in December a 30 per cent tariff was placed on chickpeas and lentils. The tariffs were imposed overnight and left […] Read more

Prairie processors plan gluten-free partnership
A Saskatchewan firm processing gluten-free oats is pairing up with a Manitoba pulse miller to expand Prairie producers’ space in the certified gluten-free market. Portage la Prairie-based Best Cooking Pulses and Regina-based Avena Foods on Monday announced a new partnership agreement they say will boost cross-selling and market penetration. Financial terms of the partnership, which […] Read more

What are the alternatives if peas don’t pencil out for your farm?
A canola-wheat rotation fosters weed and resistance problems, but a major drop in pea acreage will leave a big hole in cropping plans
Reading Time: 3 minutes Experts are stumped on what to grow this spring as a third mainstay crop. Peas have increasingly been the choice of many looking to avoid a canola-wheat rotation — but India’s trade barriers along with disease issues have left many of those producers scrambling to find an alternative. “I do believe pea acres will be […] Read more

Give peas a chance — the future looks bright
Acreage may plummet in the coming year, but the new processing plants are laying the foundation for a surge in production
Reading Time: 5 minutes Here’s some counterintuitive advice: Think about growing peas in 2018. That’s a suggestion from Alan Hall, who has kept a close watch on the pulse sector in his role as ‘new initiatives and project hunter’ with the Alberta Crop Industry Development Fund. As such, Hall is well aware of the recent plunge in pea prices, […] Read more

It’s not pretty but it’s not a disaster yet, says top pulse official
India’s pea tariff has roiled markets, but Gordon Bacon urges farmers to wait and see how things play out
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada’s top pulse official says predictions that India’s bolt-out-of-the-blue tariff could slash Prairie pea acreage by a third are premature. “Things are changing very rapidly right now,” said Gordon Bacon, CEO of Pulse Canada. “India is under a lot of pressure to do something that both provides some price support to their farmers — but acknowledges […] Read more

Canada pans India’s ‘discriminatory treatment’ over pulses
Winnipeg | Reuters — Canada on Wednesday accused India of “discriminatory treatment” against it in a dispute over $1.1 billion worth of Canadian pulse crop exports. Canada normally ships much of the peas, lentils and other protein-rich pulse crops its farmers grow to India, where they are a staple of many diets. But earlier this […] Read more

Surprise Indian duty on peas leaves Canada scrambling
Winnipeg | CNS – The Canadian pea industry was shocked Wednesday morning to wake up to a notice from India declaring a 50 per cent tax on pea imports to the country. “This sort of moves us beyond even where India has been before in pulse import duties … more than a decade ago we […] Read more