USDA Buying Peas For India

VANCOUVER - Jul 26/07 - SNS -- New crop PL-480 food aid tender activity got underway in the United States during the past week, with the USDA managing to irritate commercial exporters in both the United States and Canada by requesting offers for field peas for shipment to India as food aid.

That country is the world's largest commercial importer of field peas and pulses, readily taking two million metric tons (MT) of product per year. But, commercial buying interest has been damaged in recent weeks by the Indian government's decision to import pulses for direct sale to consumers at subsidized prices.

Exporters worry that the USDA's decision to request offers for 7,770 MT of whole green peas for shipment to India will further diminish commercial demand from that country for the fall shipping period and potentially affect buyer attitudes toward pending shipments.

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