Pea, Lentil Stocks Sharply Higher

July 31 stocks of most Canadian pulse and special crops were higher compared to a year earlier, with peas – and especially lentils – seeing particularly sharp increases. 

Tuesday’s Statistics Canada grain stocks report estimated total national lentil stockpiles as of July 31, the official end of the 2024-25 crop year, at 549,000 tonnes. That is more than three times higher than the previous year’s 164,000, and the highest July stocks number since 2019 at 856,000. 

Dry pea stocks as of July 31 came in at 489,000 tonnes, an increase of 63.5% from 299,000 a year earlier, although still below the July 2023 stocks of 550,000. 

July 31 on-farm dry pea stocks more than doubled, rising to 253 000 tonnes, while commercial stocks increased 20.4% to 236 000. Weaker exports helped to push pea stocks higher, with shipments declining 9.5% to 2.2 million tonnes, StatsCan said. 

The big increase in lentil stocks was largely attributed to a higher total supply compared with one year earlier. On-farm stocks rose to 395,000 tonnes from only 27,000 a year earlier, while commercial stocks were up 11.6% to 154 000. 

As of July 31, exports of lentils increased 8.8% year over year to 1.8 million tonnes.