Steady Decline in World Pulse Consumption
VANCOUVER - Jan 6/10 - SNS -- World pulse consumption has been steadily declining in recent decades, STAT Publishing said in a special report prepared for the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers Association last September.
"This trend is expected to continue because of competition for farm land use from other crops, government policy aimed at moving farmers into more visible 'food security' crops and bio-energy uses," STAT Publishing's Brian Clancey said in the report.
"As production falls behind domestic needs, imports rise. Imported pulses are not always cheaper and do not always have the same flavor and cooking characteristics as locally grown pulses. That can hurt overall per capita usage rates.
"These are difficult issues to overcome. If the issue is cooking time, education should solve most of the problem. Taste is a more difficult problem to overcome, unless flavor is also given priority in plant breeding efforts. However, Canadian success in Latin America suggests that dominating a market helps overcome perceived differences in taste over time."
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