Carl Potts, executive director of Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, said farmers are looking forward to seeding despite lower crop prices and higher input costs, despite the war in Iran affecting fuel and fertilizer shipments.

“There is a mix of seasonal optimism as we head into spring, as well as some concern over the impacts of the broader geopolitical impacts that have been going on,” Potts said.

• For daily market updates, visit The Western Producer Markets Desk

Most lentil varieties lost 22 to 34 cents per pound since last year, Prairie Ag Hotwire reported. Chickpeas declined four to 12 cents per pound, green peas fell $5.75/bu. and yellow peas dipped $1.34/bu. He said lower prices have kept demand strong, with China re-entering the market for Canadian peas and India remaining one of Canada’s top buyers.

“(Lower prices) really have to (keep demand strong) because we produced a large crop last year in red and especially in green lentils. I think demand is quite good and quite strong but we have a significant inventory, particularly in lentils, that the market will have to move to,” Potts said.

Last month, Statistics Canada projected a 6.3 per cent increase in chickpea acres nationwide for 2026-27 compared to last, as well as a 5.5 per cent decline in lentil acres and a 12.3 per cent drop in pea acres.

Pulses’ appeal grows with fertilizer costs

However, the data was collected before China suspended its tariffs on Canadian peas. Along with the war in Iran, growing pulses is now more appealing due to their lower fertilizer needs. Potts said small shifts in acres could be possible this spring.

“Most farmers would have fertilizer and fuel supplies relatively secured, but in cases where people didn’t have all their nitrogen fertilizer booked and they’re concerned about price or availability, then moving to something like peas or lentils or chickpeas … could be a factor,” he said, adding that farmers will largely stick to their crop rotations.

Potts added that SaskPulse will continue to work on field-based, in-season initiatives such as showcasing and testing their in-house research projects. The organization will also host a series of field days in July.

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“Presently, tariffs on peas sit at 30 per cent for all countries (Canada included) and lentils sit at roughly 11 per cent for all countries,” Jeff English, vice president, public affairs for Pulse Canada, said about India’s current tariffs in an email to Glacier FarmMedia on March 30.

For daily markets updates, visit the Western Producer Markets Desk

For some time, India suspended its duties on pulses as a means to reduce food inflation, as domestic supply wasn’t quite enough to meet demand. However, with growing pressure from Indian farmers, the country’s government reimposed the levies in late 2025.

English said Pulse Canada will be in a better position to comment after the Indian government has said where it’s going with its pulse duties.

Lentil, pea prices

Heading into that, there has been little effect on pulse cash prices across Western Canada. Prairie Ag Hotwire cited a one cent increase on old crop Laird lentils, ranging from 11.5 to 25 cents per pound delivered depending on size. However, the Lairds have fallen 26 to 30 cents/lb. over the last 12 months.

Cash prices for the Eston, Richlea and French varieties were unchanged over the last week. Estons were 13 to 21.8 cents/lb. delivered and Richleas at 8.5 to 21.8 cents/lb. They as well have experienced sharp declines since a year ago, with declines between 19.3 to 31.3 cents/lb.

Crimson lentils stepped back 1.3 to 1.5 cents on the week at 14 to 25.5 cents/lb. delivered. Over the last 12 months, Crimsons are down 4.5 to cents/lb.

As for dry peas, the greens dropped 50 cents on the week at C$7.50 to C$10/bu. delivered, while the yellows were unchanged at C$7.75 to C$8.55/bu. Over the year, the green have dropped C$7.50/bu. and the yellows slipped C$2.45.

CEPA negotiations, trade mission

English also commented on the state of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement being negotiated between Canada and India.

“…the launch of negotiations is a positive step towards a new bilateral trade relationship. We look forward to playing an active role during these negotiations to ensure that Canada’s pulse sector can benefit from enhanced trade between our two countries,” he said.

Pulse Canada led a delegation to India from March 1-5 with members of other Canadian pulse organizations. The group met with government officials, traders, millers and other industry members, Pulse Canada said in a March 30 report.

“When we sit down with customers and partners in India, it reinforces that Canada is committed for the long haul. That trust is what helps keep our product moving, even when the market gets complicated,” said Terry Youzwa, chair of Pulse Canada, in the report.

According to the report, the clearest takeaway from the mission was that India will continue to need imported pulses. Industry members said the country typically only has a few months’ worth of pulse supply at a time.

“Our job is to stay connected to the market so we can bring that signal back home. That helps farmers understand where the opportunities are – not just this year, but over the long term,” said Shane Strydhorst, Pulse Canada’s vice chair.

-With files from Geralyn Wichers

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Marlene Boersch of Mercantile Consulting Venture Inc. in Winnipeg said large carryouts and lower prices over the past year will likely mean fewer pulse acres this spring.

“Like for all commodities, prices are down quite a bit. So your return-per-acre calculation will change very significantly,” Boersch said. “On top of that, for both lentils and peas, you will have some very significant carryout.”

Seeded lentil acres were estimated at 4.138 million tonnes, down 5.5 per cent from last year. The total would be the least amount of acres in three years and the second-least since 2020. One reason for the decline would be the 2025-26 carryout of 1.695 million tonnes, more than three times larger than the previous year’s.

Dry pea acres were also set to be lower, dropping by 12.3 per cent at 3.078 million acres. The figure was also the lowest in three years and the second-lowest since 2012. Dry pea plantings will decline in all three Prairie provinces, most notably Saskatchewan where it will lose 16.6 per cent for a total of 1.479 million. The 2025-26 carryout for dry peas was 1.31 million tonnes, nearly triple from the previous year.

The amount of edible bean acres is projected to decline by 30.7 per cent at 295,000 acres, the smallest total since 2015 and one year after the biggest edible bean crop since 2020. Manitoba’s seeded area was estimated at 120,000 tonnes this year, down 44.7 per cent from 2025.

StatCan estimated faba beans acres this spring to total 55,900, 18.8 per cent lower than in 2025 and the fewest acres since 2016. It would also mark the fourth straight time faba bean acres in Canada declined year-by-year.

Chickpeas were the only pulse to buck the trend. Canadians are expected to use 6.3 per cent more land than last year to grow the crop at 575,000 acres. It would be the fifth straight yearly increase for chickpeas and its largest seeded area since 2001. This is despite 2026 ending stocks for chickpeas having more than quadrupled from the year before at 275,000 tonnes.

The planting survey was conducted from mid-December to mid-January. However, rising fertilizer prices tied to the escalating conflict in the Middle East could shift planting intentions, said Glacier FarmMedia analyst Bruce Burnett. He said the relatively lower input costs for pulse crops compared to other options could lead to more area going to peas and lentils this spring than earlier expectations.

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New Delhi and Ottawa hope to increase bilateral trade to US$50 billion by 2030, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during a joint media appearance with Carney, from nearly US$9 billion (C12.3 billion) in 2024-25.

WHY IT MATTERS: India is a key market for Canadian pulses, particularly lentils, and also imports other goods like packaged foods. However, Canadian farmers have faced tariffs on pulse exports to that country.

The two sides have agreed to the terms of reference on a comprehensive economic partnership, the Indian foreign ministry added.

Pulse protein centre of excellence

In a joint statement, Carney and Modi “highlighted expanding opportunities for collaboration in agri-technology, research, and value-added food production, and agreed that deeper agricultural partnership will advance sustainable farming practices, nutrition security, and mutually beneficial trade and investment.”

They welcomed a proposal to create a “Canada–India Pulse Protein Centre of Excellence” at India’s National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) Kundli. The aim of the centre would include collaboration on research, advancing pulse protein processing and strengthening ties between academia and industry in the two countries.

Carney and Modi “noted the complementary strengths of the Province of Saskatchewan as a global leader in pulse production and innovation, and India as the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses,” the statement said.

Uranium deal

They also agreed on a C$2.6 billion uranium deal and will work on building small modular nuclear reactors and advanced reactors, both sides said. “In civil nuclear energy, we have concluded a landmark deal for the long-term supply of uranium,” Modi said.

The Indian government and Canada’s Cameco have signed a uranium supply agreement to support India’s nuclear ambitions and to work towards a clean, reliable base load power, Carney added.

Relations between India and Canada deteriorated sharply in 2023 after then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged Indian involvement in the killing of a Canadian Sikh separatist, accusations New Delhi rejected as “absurd”.

The dispute deepened and led to expulsions of diplomats and freezing of trade negotiations.

Carney’s four day India visit is aimed at resetting ties, as both countries look to diversify trade away from the United States due to tariff announcements and deepen cooperation in areas such as clean energy, critical minerals and agricultural value chains.

India sealed a free‑trade pact with the European Union in January, while it recently paused negotiations with the United States on a proposed deal, hoping to resume once there is greater clarity following the invalidation of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

–Reporting by Sakshi Dayal, Shivangi Acharya and Shilpa Jamkhandikar, with files from Glacier FarmMedia.

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“That’s what it looks to be. However, who knows what can happen tomorrow,” Mosnaim said, adding a note of caution in case of any volatility.

“We are in a world that you never know what can happen,” he said. “It’s a ‘fun’ period of time.”

Prices for greens, reds

Over the last week, Western Canadian green and red lentil prices have shifted one to two cents either way at most, Prairie Ag Hotwire reported for the week ended Feb. 13.

Among the greens, Lairds remained unchanged with prices depending on size ranging from 12 to 26 cents per pound delivered.

Estons were mixed with the number ones and twos shedding a half cent while the number threes tacked on a penny. Altogether they were 12.5 to 23.5 cents/lb. delivered.

The Richleas were steady to higher, as its number ones and twos were unchanged and threes added a penny. They were priced at 7.5 to 23.5 cents/lb. delivered.

Then the French greens dipped one cent at 19.5 to 21 cents/lb. delivered.

For the reds, Crimsons gained two cents for all sizes at 15 to 26 cents/lb. delivered.

Spring planting

Just as the Prairies were about to get a significant dump of snow, Mosnaim stressed that the amount received really doesn’t matter too much. Rather it will be how fast or slow the spring melt turns out to be. He added that parts of the region had decent amounts of soil moisture going into winter, which will also help.

As for how much lentils farmers decide to seed come spring, Mosnaim was cautious.

“If farmers planted the same as they did last year … there will be a lot of lentils in storage,” he said.

StatCan, AAFC, CGC

Already, farmers are faced with very large supplies of lentils. Statistics Canada reported on Feb. 6 that lentil stocks as of Dec. 31 were 2.06 million tonnes, almost double from Dec. 31, 2024 as well as the five-year average.

In January, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada projected lentil ending stocks for 2025/26 to hit 1.54 million tonnes, a leap of about one million tonnes from 2024/25. AAFC estimated the 2026/27 carryover to slip to 1.31 million tonnes.

Somewhat on the plus side for lentils, exports and domestic use for 2025/16 are ahead of a year ago. The Canadian Grain Commission reported exports of 782,000 tonnes as of Feb. 8 compared to 763,700 a year ago. Cumulative domestic use reached 127,700 tonnes versus 107,800 the same time last year.

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“We were looking at some pretty difficult circumstances,” Penner said, referencing the trade issues Canada had with China and India over the last year, and emphasized the cyclical nature of the markets.

“Right now, I believe we are at the low part of the cycle, which means we will be coming up the other side. It’s just a matter of timing,” he said.

Penner said Canadian pulse growers had one of their biggest harvests, but not necessarily due to the most planted area in five years nor the August rains.

“It was the mild summer,” he stated. “It’s the temperatures that gave us the big yields this year.”

Export competition

Penner cautioned that foreign competitors such as Russia also had sizeable pulse crops with it gleaning about five million tonnes of peas alone.

On the positive side, he said China is set to remove its 100 per cent tariffs on Canadian pea imports come March 1.

“We’ll see how much of an appetite they have left for peas,” Penner said, noting that China’s pea inventories are at 20-year lows.

China/India

He said it’s very likely China will continue buying Russian peas for feed and purchase the better quality Canadian peas for fractionation.

Although India ended its duty-free period on its pea imports in November, as a means to boost domestic prices, Penner said Canadian bids surprisingly haven’t declined.

He forecast China and India to each import about 800,000 tonnes of Canadian peas in 2025/26. However, he lamented that it will still leave large ending stocks.

Penner based his estimate that on average pea yields of 35 bu./ac., down from 42.3. He placed planted area at 3.15 million acres compared to 3.51 million in 2025/26. That put 2026/27 production at 2.94 million tonnes versus 3.93 million this year.

Lentils

As with peas, Canadian growers reaped a large lentil crop but so did its competitors, including Australia at about 1.91 million tonne, Penner said.

“We’re not the only show in town anymore,” he noted, but cautioned that other major lentil-producing countries such as Turkey, the United States, Kazakhstan are set to plant less in 2026/27.

The price differences between Canada and Australia should help the former’s exports. Penner cited Canadian red lentils at about US$350 per tonne, versus US$450 for Australian reds.

Although India’s lentil imports are off to a good start, he stressed their domestic prices are at multi-year lows. Currently, India has a 10 per cent import duty on lentils, and Penner warned that could increase.

If India were to triple its levy to 30 per cent, he’s confident that won’t hurt Canada’s lentils exports to the country.

He said the best hope for Canadian lentils in 2026/27 is for increased exports, farmers to reduce their acres and to get average yields.

Penner said if lentil yields fall from 1,722 pounds per acre this year to an average of 1,213 in 2026/27, coupled with reduced planted acres of 3.90 million compared to 4.38 million this year, that will help reduce ending stocks.

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Wheat

• Total Canadian wheat stocks as of Dec. 31 of 27.5 million tonnes were up by 5.9 per cent from the same point the previous year, and well above the five-year average of 23.6 million tonnes.

• On-farm stocks at 24.1 million tonnes were up 7.2 per cent on the year, while commercial stocks were down 2.7 per cent at 3.4 million tonnes.

• Of the total, durum stocks were up by 18.5 per cent on the year at 5.3 million tonnes.

Canola

• Canola stocks as of Dec. 31, 2025, were up 18.8 per cent on the year at 15.6 million tonnes. On-farm stocks were up 21.2 per cent at 14.3 million tonnes, while commercial stocks dipped by 7.4 per cent at 1.3 million tonnes.

• StatCan linked the larger canola supplies to increased production and a sharp drop 36.1 per cent drop in exports due to Chinese tariffs.

Barley

• Barley stocks were up 16.7 per cent on the year at 5.7 million tonnes. That compares with the five-year average of 4.8 million tonnes.

Pulses

• Lentil stocks of just under three million tonnes were roughly double what was on hand at the same point the previous year.

• Pea stocks were 77.5 per cent higher on the year, at 3.0 million tonnes.

Corn/soybeans

• Corn stocks were down 3.3 per cent from the same point a year ago, at 10.9 million tonnes.

• Soybeans stocks were 26.6 per cent lower on the year at 3.2 million tonnes.

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Peas

• Canada exported 155,841 tonnes of peas in November, which was down by 44 per cent from October. Crop year-to-date pea exports of just over one million tonnes compares with 1.266 million at the same point in 2024/25.
• Bangladesh was the largest destination for peas in November, but India remains the top customer for the year at 416,405 tonnes through four months.
• Yellow peas account for 87 per cent of the total pea exports.
• Crop year-to-date pea exports to China of 90,454 tonnes are down 73 per cent on the year, as Chinese tariffs limited movement earlier in the marketing year. Expectations are for exports to China to pick up in March when tariffs are lifted.

Lentils

• Canadian lentil exports in November of 184,070 tonnes were down 37 per cent from the previous month, with crop year-to-date exports of 775,370 tonnes down 6.6 per cent from the same point the previous year.
• The United Arab Emirates was the largest lentil destination in November, taking 41,636 tonnes, but India remains the top importer of Canadian lentils on the year at 232,112 tonnes through four months.

Chickpeas

• Canada exported 28,338 tonnes of chickpeas in November, up by about 10,000 tonnes from the previous month. Crop-year-to-date chickpea exports of 73,877 tonnes were 39 per cent above the previous year.
• The United States was the largest destination for chickpeas through four months, accounting for 21.5 per cent of the total. Pakistan, Turkey, Italy and Israel round out the top five.

Edible beans

• Canada has exported 79,778 tonnes of dry edible beans through November, with roughly half of that headed to the United States. Year-to-date 2025/26 edible bean exports are up 8.3 per cent from the same point the previous year.
• Edible bean exports in November of 26,356 tonnes were up 6.5 per cent from October.

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