LENTIL prices have spiked up to $100 a tonne in the past week as concerns over wet harvest conditions in Canada play havoc.
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However, one pulse industry insider suggested a prolonged period of fine weather in Canada from now on would likely mean prices would ease once again.
John Donaldson, marketing manager at the Wimmera Grain Company, said prices were currently between $775 and $800 a tonne, a handsome profit for those with crops with the potential to yield around three tonnes to the hectare at present.
However, he said reports from Canada were that there was some fine weather coming which would allow a sustained period of harvesting.
“They are expecting a big year of around 1.6 million tonnes of production, that’s up from forecasts of 1.4 million tonnes earlier in the year, and there’s around half a million tonnes off already.
“The big issue is going to be with quality, and there are already reports of some off-grade lentils being harvested, but we don’t know how big a problem this will be overall.
“It’s going to be an exceptional harvest size-wise, the quality will be the unknown factor.”
Mr Donaldson said much of the spike in prices related to the delay in the Canadian harvest, rather than any change in production forecasts.
“It’s a little bit late in terms of getting some orders through.
“The delay as much as anything else, has meant the market has jumped and it will be interesting to see what happens with the prices once they get right into the harvest.”
Meanwhile, there has also been a small move upwards in faba bean prices, which have been flat for over a year.
Mr Donaldson said concerns about production in Europe means that Egypt will be looking for Australian beans to meet demand this year.
With this, prices are at $300/t port or above, a marked improvement from last harvest when many growers sold beans for less than $200/t on-farm.
It is not just the European faba bean crop under threat.
With much of the Australian faba bean crop produced in medium to high rainfall zones there have been reports of waterlogging and disease damage, with plants weakened by excessive moisture more susceptible to fungal disease.
