Statistics & Trends

Canadian Pulse Production
With over 4.6 million acres of pulses, Saskatchewan is Canada's leading producer of peas, lentils and chickpeas. Pulse production has grown rapidly in Saskatchewan. From 1995 to 2008, acres of peas increased from 1.35 to 2.9 million acres, producing over 2.9 million tonnes. Lentil production has increased from 365,000 tonnes in 1997 to over 673,000 tonnes in 2008. Chickpea production has had a variable production pattern, with acreage increasing in 2007 and production increasing to 198,000 tonnes, up 280% from 2004. Saskatchewan is not currently a significant player in Canada's bean industry. There were approximately 12,000 acres of beans produced in Saskatchewan in 2007. This information is courtesy of Saskatchewan Agriculture.

For more information about Pulses and Special Crops please visit the links below.

+Saskatchewan Agriculture - Specialty Crop Report
+Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada - Market Analysis Division for Pulse Crops
+Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada - Bi-weekly Bulletin

Canada is the world's largest producer and exporter of peas. Saskatchewan produces 80% of the Canadian pea crop. In 2007, Canada produced 3.6 million tonnes of peas. Canada's closest competitor, in terms of both production and exports, is France, which produced about 1.3 million tonnes of dry peas in 2005.

Canada is the world's exporter of lentils, followed by Turkey, Australia and India. Saskatchewan produces 99% of the lentils grown in Canada. In 2007, Canada produced 673,000 tonnes of lentils.

Canadian chickpea production rose in the late 1990's, peaking at 450,000 tonnes in the 2001-02 growing year. A combination of low prices, disease problems and poor weather discouraged producers from planting chickpeas and production dropped to 50,000 tonnes in 2004. Since then, acreage was increased due to improved prices and the introduction of new adapted varieties with improved foliar disease resistance. In 2007, chickpea production rose to 224,000 tonnes.

Canada is not a major player in the world bean industry. Approximately 70% of the Canadian bean crop is exported each year. Ontario is the leading producer of bean crops in Canada.

Statisical information courtesy of Saskatchewan Agriculture and Pulse Canada.

			1. The Saskatchewan Pulse Growers represent 18,000 pulse producers in Saskatchewan. 2. Saskatchewan producers planted approximately 5.3 million acres of pulses in 2009. 3. Saskatchewan is Canada's leading producer and exporter of peas, lentils and chickpeas. 4. In 2008, Saskatchewan produced about 80% of Canada's pea crop. 5. In 2008, Saskatchewan produced about 99% of Canada's lentil crop. 6. In 2008, Saskatchewan produced about 99% of Canada's chickpea crop.