WHILE farmers should not expect the record lentil prices of $1000 a tonne from the middle of last year come the 2010 harvest, pulses are likely to continue to be the one shining light in a depressed soft commodities market, according to leading pulse exporters, the Wimmera Grain Company.
In particular, the major human consumption crops, chickpeas and lentils, are likely to appear extremely attractive when compared with cereals.
Wimmera Grain Company managing director David Matthews said broadly, the strong interest in pulse crops domestically and internationally was a reaction to the flat prices for wheat and barley.
He said chickpea prices supported planting, suggesting a figure of around $500/t for Kabulis.
A significant point has been the market acceptance of small-seeded Kabuli types in key markets.
“We had success sending the small Kabulis into Pakistan and the Middle East, which is good news.”
Mr Matthews said it was hard to get a handle on the pricing trends until more was known about the northern hemisphere crop, other than to say prices were likely to be back on last year’s records.
“After two years of extremely high prices, I wouldn’t be budgeting on that again.”
Marketing manager at Wimmera Grain Co, John Donaldson, said the chickpea market was currently sluggish.
“The market has gone quiet, there’s been virtually no enquiry from buyers, and we haven’t heard from any would-be sellers either.”
Mr Matthews said the lentil market would be the most volatile, and said it was impossible to speculate on exactly what prices would do.
“We could see prices of $700/t at harvest, but equally they could be back at more traditional levels of $400/t.”
Mr Donaldson said the likelihood of a return to a more normal season in key lentil producing countries in the Middle East, such as Turkey and Syria, plus an expected big exportable surplus from Canada of around 400,000 tonnes suggested it was unlikely prices would stay at record highs.
On the old crop front, Mr Donaldson said there had been good success exporting heat stressed second grade lentils.
“There has been a discount of around $200/t on the Number 1s, but that leaves them at $500/t to 600/t, which is a lot better than the stock feed value.”
At harvest, there were fears the lentils would only be fit to be sold as stockfeed.
Mr Matthews said the faba bean outlook was not so rosy, in light of increased European production.
“A lot of our traditional high value markets into the Middle East, places such as Egypt, are now sourcing most of their product from Europe, which has a freight advantage over us.
“There are some small human consumption markets in south-east Asia, but overall, faba bean demand is pretty flat.”
“We haven’t been competitive into Egypt with faba beans for a couple of years.
“To compete with Europe, we’d have to be selling the beans at around $140/t.”
Current prices are around $220/t delivered upcountry.
“At present beans are being priced off stockfeed values, but they will occasionally become competitive into their major human consumption markets in the Middle East.
“There has also been some demand from China.”
In the field pea industry, Mr Donaldson reported limited splitting demand, and said old-crop quality was generally too low for them to go into the sprouting sector.
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