Russian pulses harvest update/
6 insights on peas, lentils and chickpeas

Tareq on…what's new at Fruitimpex

• We've been consistently working on human resources and the structure of the company to improve both the quality and quantity of our products. Over the last year we've increased our volumes of exports by almost 100%, selling red/green lentils, kabulis, peas, and desi chickpeas, as well as flaxseed and hulled millet. To match international quality demands, we've improved our quality control department in Moscow and other regions, in addition to developing logistics.

• This year, unstable prices in the domestic market have made sourcing products quite difficult, and bad weather conditions have had a strong influence on all sectors of the market – both sales and purchasing.
  
  

… the progress of the Russian pulse harvest

• The 2024/2025 season started with some uncertainty, as Russian prices were higher than those in the international market. Farmers who managed to bring in their harvest before the rainy season collected good-quality pulses, but farmers who didn't are facing issues with quality.

• We've seen long periods of rain in the chickpea regions of Samara, Saratov, Orenburg, and more recently in the Siberia regions – all of this has had a negative effect on the quality of the harvest. Despite these weather events, the price level for good quality products has not decreased. In our view, we will need to wait a couple of weeks for these issues to be reflected in the market.

• Seeded area for pulses was increased this year, but yield was reduced due to the poor weather conditions. Initially we saw frosts in the south and central areas of Russia, then dry weather in the early part of the cycle and finally the recent rains. This has all had a negative impact on yield, as well as quality.

• The harvest is now about 75% complete – it's finished in the southern regions but northern regions like Siberia still remain. Late rains have slowed down the harvest which accounts for the delay, but we expect the harvest will be finished at the end of September.
  
  

… production & quality 

• Around 2 million hectares of peas were planted this year, and during the seeding period we expected a bigger crop than we have now. Bad weather has created lower yields and we think output will be limited to between 3.5 – 3.7 MMT.

• We predict production of kabuli chickpeas is around 500 KMT, and that the quality will be average. Typically the main importers of Russian kabuli will be the Middle East, Pakistan, Turkey, and some countries in Africa.

• Yield reductions have been seen in many regions around Russia – some pulse crops have experienced a 30% drop in yields. Farmers who harvested after the rain started or are currently continuing the harvest are faced with bad quality products.

• For red and green lentils, harvesting is at around 70% complete, with the main Black Sea region already harvested and Siberia ongoing. Acreage expanded to about 450,000 hectares, but lower-than-expected yields may limit production to less than 300 KMT. Red lentils will be around 80 – 100 KMT and green lentils will be around 175 – 200 KMT. In the new season, we are seeing smaller sizes of lentils, like Estons, which are not as much in demand in the current market.

• As of September 12, domestic stocks of lentils are 450 KMT, yellow peas are around 4 MMT, and chickpeas are around 550 KMT maximum.
  
  

… the Russian pea export market

• India's removal of import duty on peas will be important. Take last year as an example: offers on Russian peas were 350 USD, then once the import duty was removed, offers increased to 500 USD.

• Since import permission was given for Russian peas into China, Russia became the top trading partner, taking over the position from Canada. We expect to see this happen again in the next agricultural cycle – Russia will continue to occupy a leading position for importing Russian peas.

• The peas we have harvested are 30% for human consumption and 70% feed grade – this is because much of our domestic consumption is for animal feed.

• Higher acreage and production in anticipation of Indian imports have created a surplus year of production this year. Demand from China and India will make the offers worse, and traders across Canada and Russia will be competing for the demand. This push may keep global prices depressed until greater demand resurfaces.
  
  

… the Kazakhstan lentil crop

• The Kazakhstan red lentil crop is still continuing its harvest after a rainy season. According to Kazakh databases, moisture levels are high. The crop itself is a small quantity and won't affect exports from Russia a great deal.