Prairie producers may have to wait a bit longer to see further gains in chickpea prices.
With buyers generally well stocked with supplies in the nearer-term, it could be winter or early spring before those stocks are depleted and purchasers need to step back into the market, said Colin Young, manager of Mid-West Grain Ltd. in Moose Jaw.
“The buyers - in the face of escalating prices - are choosing to wait to consume their carryover stock and hope they can purchase something cheaper to carry them through,” he said. “If the market is going to move, it’s going to be between December and March. That window should see destination stocks depleted and then needing to repurchase, more willing to pay a higher price because they don’t have cheaper inventory in hand.”
Although Prairie chickpea prices have risen due to this year’s drought and lower production, the gains have not been as strong as for other crops, mainly because record high prices in 2017 and 2018 coaxed significantly more acres into the ground and resulted in heavier carryovers. For 2021-22, Agriculture Canada is projecting domestic ending stocks of 155,000 tonnes, way down from 280,000 a year earlier but still representing a hefty stocks-to-use ratio of 66%.