Russia 2024 pea crop/
AgPulse Analytica on the possibility of bumper production

Russian farmers have been expanding their pulses acreage for years, with the main focus on field peas. After Indian authorities took multiple tariff and non-tariff measures to restrict pulses imports (starting mid-2017), pulse acreages took a dive almost everywhere, including Russia. Dry pea acreage in the country dropped from 1.435 million hectares in 2018 to 1.252 million in 2019 (-12.8%). After that dip, however, acreages started increasing again and for the fifth year in a row, Rosstat has reported an uptick.

2024 Acreage

Rosstat recently released 2024 acreage figures and once again the farmers sowed a record number of pulses: 3.91 million hectares compared to 2.96 million last year and 1.98 million in 2020. While pea acreage was also up, the burgeoning demand for lentils, chickpeas and other minor pulse crops played an important role in this year’s increase. India opening to Russian lentil imports last season, for example, and strong demand for Russian kabuli chickpeas were the main drivers of acreage growth this year.

Peas

Pea acreages have seen an increase of 11% year-on-year and the figure is 46% higher than the five-year average (2019-2023).