Lentils Start Year on Quiet Note
VANCOUVER - Jan 4/13 - SNS -- International lentil markets are starting the new year on a relatively quiet note, with markets showing little movement during the holiday season.
Attention has shifted to the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers annual convention and market outlook conference. Traders attending the winter meeting hope to gauge grower sentiment toward planting peas, lentils and chickpeas this spring. Growers hope to get insight into new crop pricing.
New crop grower bids have started to appear, with new crop bids now posted for small green lentils, green peas, brown and yellow mustard seed, and canaryseed.
Opening bids for lentils suggest companies see little opportunity for prices to move upward until supplies are more closely balanced with demand. This is a key reason lentil area is expected to be down significantly in Canada this year, with large greens bearing the brunt of the decline.
Lentil U.S. Loan Program
The USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation office sets prices to be used by country offices for determining marketing loan repayment rates. The price for 2012 crop lentils was unchanged at U.S. $22.50 per 100 pounds in the west and $19.37 cwt for product in the east.
At this level there is no Loan Deficiency Payment (LDP) for lentils in the east (Montana, North Dakota, etc) based on a loan rate of $10.55 cwt. Nor will there be a Loan Deficiency Payment (LDP) for lentils in the west (Washington, Idaho, Oregon) based on a loan rate of $13.68 cwt.
As of January 4, growers have placed 17.2205 million pounds of 2012 crop lentils under loan. This includes 958,947 pounds in Idaho; 12.9175 million pounds in Montana; 2.088 million pounds in North Dakota; and 1.2561 million pounds in Washington.
Last season, U.S. farmers placed 28.0293 million pounds under loan; compared to 30.0505 million in 2010-11; 10.8799 million pounds in 2009-10; 5.356 million pounds in 2008-09; and 11.8465 million pounds in 2007-08.
Of the 2012-13 crop loans, 3.757 million pounds have been repaid.
Lentils have not been eligible for LDP payments since the 2006-07 marketing year. In 2006-07, they requested LDPs totalling $11,421,798 on 225.752 million pounds of lentils, compared to $2,218,290 for 129.563 million pounds in 2005-06.
Only active subscribers can read all of this article.
If you are a subscriber, please log into the website.
If you are not a subscriber, click here to subscribe to this edition of the STAT website and to learn more about becoming a subscriber.
