Lentil Marketing Board on Table

VANCOUVER - Jan 6/07 - SNS -- This year's Saskatchewan Pulse Growers annual meeting in Saskatoon is expected to become significantly more controversial than usual as the group initiates a province wide discussion of major proposals to try to revamp that way green lentils grown there are marketed.

The two key alternatives are up for discussion. One is a marketing board, which may operate at only the grower level or which may take over domestic and export marketing functions for the commodity. The second is the adoption of the U.S. farm program for lentils to be funded by either the provincial or federal government, or by growers themselves.

The recommendations come from a report done under contract for the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers by Marlene Boersch of Mercantile Consulting Venture (MCV). The former trader asserts the key problem facing green lentil growers is: "When Canada is an aggressive seller it is not only foregoing fair value for its lentils versus other origins . . . (it) precipitated declines in other origin values as well.

"The price effect is most pronounced where Canada holds very high market shares. It suggests that Canada is more a price taker than a price setter when in reality it should act as the price setter."

The report is available for download at the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers website and will be presented January 9 at Pulse Days 2007 in Saskatoon and at Pulse Development Workshops in rural Saskatchewan later this winter.

The Pulse Growers group is trying hard to stay on the fence with respect to the report's conclusions, officially stating it "is now in a consultation phase to get feedback from producers, the trade and industry representatives. The Board has not endorsed the study nor have they made any judgments regarding the possible outcomes listed in the report."

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