MarketsFarm — Seasonal harvest pressure may be weighing on pea and lentil bids in Western Canada — but rain delays could lead to quality premiums down the road.

Large green lentils delivered to the plant are currently trading at around 20 cents/lb. at the high end, with red lentils topping out at 16 cents/lb. delivered, said broker Dale McManus of Johnston’s Grain at Welwyn, Sask.

Yellow peas are priced at around $5.30 per bushel picked-up and green peas are at $7 per bushel.

Tight old-crop supplies saw green peas trading in the $10-$12 per bushel range back in the spring, while old-crop yellow pea and lentil bids were a bit firmer than current bids.

Green pea acres were up on the year, which accounted for the drop in price. McManus said early harvest reports were pointing to good quality, but recent rain delays were raising some concerns and bleaching was likely.

Lentil and pea harvests in Saskatchewan were both about a quarter done in the latest provincial crop report for the week ended Aug. 26. However, cool temperatures and rains over the Labour Day long weekend were causing delays.

“We really won’t know until producers get back on the field,” McManus said.

Going forward, between Canada’s potential quality issues and drought concerns in Australia, “we’ll probably see prices forced higher,” he said.

However, the pulse industry continues to face export challenges, with movement to India still hampered by high tariffs.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin writes for MarketsFarm, a Glacier FarmMedia division specializing in grain and commodity market analysis and reporting.