How India Helped Canada's Pulse Industry Realize Its Potential

Demand for pulses is growing around the world and within India.

“The expansion of acres across western Canada in the early 1990s could be linked to a wide range of different factors,” says Cherewyk. “But you can't overstate the importance of having an international market for the crops that we were expanding into, and India was the major customer for Canadian peas and lentils for many years.”

Pulse Canada has made significant and tangible gains in its relationship with India as a strategic partner, becoming a reliable supplier that’s critical to meeting India’s affordability and availability objectives.

“From time to time, the Indian market can still be fairly disruptive, but, as a result of our long-standing relationship, we better understand the motivations and can better anticipate change,” added Cherewyk.

Through Pulse Canada’s good working relationships with industry people in India, open and constructive conversations were able to take place over the mutual benefits of more level and stable tariff adjustments.

“We’re seeing tariffs locked in for a year, which is a new and welcome signal towards stability,” says Cherewyk. “Currently, we’re enjoying a zero-tariff year on lentils that will be extended to March 2025, speaking to the proof and importance of developing relationships under the banner of aligned goals and strategic collaboration.”

It’s also a market not immune to diplomatic disagreements. Yet amid these political tensions, Pulse Canada has remained able to connect with allies in India on a business-to-business level and at an industry level.

“Companies invest heavily to ensure they have representation in India,” says Cherewyk. “Some of the best intelligence we get on how things are unfolding and what the perspectives of government and industry are on issues, come from those people who are involved directly in the pulse business in India. We all have a role to play.”

India has a longstanding intention for its pulse production to become self-sufficient, but continues to rely on imports. The Green Revolution in the 1960s – a movement that sought to modernize agriculture in India – focused more heavily on wheat and rice, pushing pulse acres away from irrigated land to rainfed areas. About 85 percent of their domestic pulse production is still grown in those areas.

Another challenge is that investments in breeding and agronomics have historically been more focused on cereals. This, combined with government programs incentivizing the production of wheat, rice, and sugar, has made it very difficult for pulse acres to increase.

As India marches toward its strategic goal of ensuring its people have access to affordable pulses 365 days per year, Canada’s opportunity lies in supporting this goal while increasing demand for exports.

Strong bilateral, diplomatic relationships with the countries we trade with should not be taken for granted. At a political level, the inability of some governments to come together and find solutions for challenges surrounding free-trade agreements and access issues have stalled progress.

Pulse Canada has witnessed industry and businesses bridge these gaps and work together with international partners to find answers to complex challenges and continues to see this as a positive step to strong collaborations in the future.