Pulses a Key Part of the Premier's Trade Mission to India

Premier Scott Moe says last week’s trade mission to India was fruitful.

He says they talked with Indian officials about a number of topics including pulse tariffs, the issue of fumigation and Potash, as Saskatchewan provides India with 25% of its potash needs.

Swift Current MLA Everett Hindley joined the Premier on the trip.

Hindley is also the Legislative Secretary for Trade and Export Development and says India is one of Saskatchewan’s most important markets.

“Our province has been Canada’s top exporter to India for the past decade, with exports valued in and around $1.15 billion dollars in 2017. We’re also Canada’s largest agri-food exporter to India. In 2017 we were India’s largest supplier of peas and lentils as well.”

In the last year, we’ve seen a drop in exports with the implementation of the Indian tariffs on peas, lentils, and chickpeas.

“They’ve had some substantial production in India by their own farmers which have obviously reduced the demand for Saskatchewan imports. That being said they know as we know here in Saskatchewan that can all change on a dime, based on the weather. Part of the discussions we had talked about how we can remain strong trading partners so that when India’s production goes down, Saskatchewan farmers are still able to help fill that void.”

India has a population of 1.3 billion people and is Saskatchewan’s third largest trading partner.