Pulse weekly outlook: India’s drought could be field pea opportunity

The Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh provinces have observed the lowest rainfall levels in more than 60 years, following lower rainfall than normal in 2018.“If rainfall delays further, it could change sowing patterns and could hurt crop yields as well,” B.V. Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA), told Reuters. According to India’s Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, total imports for field peas increased significantly in April. Approximately 132,000 tonnes of field peas were imported, a 197 per cent increase from the previous month. Canada has exported 116,000 tonnes of peas to India so far this year, well below the 296,000 exported at the same time in 2018. The five-year average prior to India’s restrictions was 1.2 million tonnes, according to Canadian Grain Commission data. The Canadian field pea has been stable for a while, with prices observed around the $6.50-$6.70 range. Right now, Canada is not expecting ...