Pigeon peas???

[Jagfarms]

Pigeon peas, Maple peas are they the same thing? I was reading that there is around 3,000,000 metric tons of pigeon peas produced each year. India produces over 2,000,000 metric tons on their own. What are all these peas used for it could not be for bird food?

[Jagfarms]

I got the flu and taking neo-citran so the screen is a bit fuzzy this morning. I forgot to have one word in the last line so posted it again below.

What are all these peas used for it could not ALL be for bird food.

[clancey]

Pigeon peas and maple peas are different.

India grows pigeon peas, which are shaped a little like a navy bean, for human food. When they have a short crop, we sometimes see it here as an increase in demand for lentils, which are the preferred subsitute.

India does not grow much in the way of Maple peas. World production is relatively small, with the premium part of the crop going into the birdfood trade and rest into livestock feed. There is not much human consumption trade in Maple peas. New Zealand used to be the main producer, but Canada is probably the primary supplier now.

Maple peas sometimes compete with Australian winter peas, which are a black pea, in birdseed markets and in forage blends grown by some dairy producers in parts of the United States.

[parsley]

Jagfarms,

India:
Population: 1014003817 (July 2000 est.)

They eat lentils, beans and chickpeas as staples in their diet every day.

Go to an authentic East Indian restaurant with a buffet and you will be surprised at the variety of pulses on their menu, while we have traditionally eaten 'meat and potatoes'.

Parsley

[clancey]

India grew an average 13.5 million MT of pulses in each of the past five years. But, their dietary requirement was closer to 18.2 million. Imports only made up part of the difference, averaging, 1.6 million MT per year.

The average unfilled shortfall was 3.1 million MT. That is mainly left enmpty because the average incomes are too small to buy more food.

However, when India grows more, the poor have more money, and they will buy more food.

[Jagfarms]

Clancey

Will we see maple peas get up to over $10/bu again here in Canada? I seen there was one time they were almost $17/bu. How long do you think before the price goes up here in canada? Do they store good for long periods of time?

My wife and I were in Bali Indonesia last March and they had a lot of pulse's there as well and lots of rice and seafood and very inexpensive prices for everything. Good Bintang beer as well.

[clancey]

The good news is Maple peas have little downward risk because they are at or just above feed values, depending on where you live.

They seem to follow a very long cycle. This is probably because they are extremely easy to over produce relative to the size of the premium market. Markets were very hot in 1996 and 1997 and again in 2001 and 2002.

The first spike was partly a consequence of drought in 1995. It would appear interest in green and yellow peas was so strong, seedings of Maples collapsed. In 2001 and 2002, the same kind of factor could have been at play, with Maple peas also suffering from very poor yields.

Interest in Maple peas should be down at current prices. This is setting the stage for a recovery . . . but it may take other problems to really get the ball rolling. The cycles we have seen so far suggest 2008 could be a good year.

I do not know how long Maple peas really store. Peas are an organic product and they age and naturally discolor. As they discolor, that could become a market factor. While the real end user probably does not mind, the intermediary users seems to care a lot about looks.