International shortages fuel pulse rallies

PULSE prices have rallied in line with the heavy rain across eastern Australia in the past fortnight, but it has been international, not domestic, factors driving values up. Australia Grain Exports pulse trader William Alexander said field pea prices had lifted to close to $500 a tonne, faba beans to around $560/t and lentils to near $1000/t. The market for the primarily northern-grown chickpeas is still relatively quiet as farmers and traders assess the extent of weather damage on the crop. RELATED: Whopper bean harvest but prices crash RELATED: Markets surge on USDA data Mr Alexander said the price rises for field peas and faba beans were both due to demand from international human consumption markets. Both crops are often sold into domestic stockfeed markets however Mr Alexander said this year international demand was up in light of poor crops in key international growing regions. "Canada is the important one for field peas, their yellow pea crop is massive and usually supplies ...