GROWING durum and pulse crops often go hand-in-hand, with the wheat performing well following legume crops.
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So, when the Southern Australia Durum Growers Association held their annual pre-seeding forum at Blyth, a pulse market update was included as part of the day.
Australian Growers Direct trader Tom Lucas said there were issues with Indian pulse crops, which could help support prices.
“India is halfway through their Rabi season (the country has two growing seasons) and that season usually produces two-thirds of their annual pulse production,” he said. “The season has been affected by adverse weather conditions and heavy storms.”
Mr Lucas said while these weather conditions would affect production, and lead to an increase in imports, there was a limit to the country’s demand.
“Last year even though their production fell 2 million tonnes, imports only rose by 1mt,” he said.
Mr Lucas said it would be important to keep an eye on what was happening with Canadian crops.
“Canada has a year-on-year increase in lentil plantings and 1.8m hectares of red lentils are expected to be sown in Canada this year,” he said. “Medium to large size lentils, similar to the variety Nugget, are produced in Canada.”
In SA last season, 120,000ha of lentils were sown, with 150,000t produced. The area sown to lentils in SA is expected to rise again this coming season.
“Non-traditional areas like the Mallee and the Riverland are looking at planting lentils this year,” Mr Lucas said.
