US production of lentils, dry peas, and chickpeas is forecast to rise this year, with lentils and chickpeas seeing particularly sharp increases.
Initial estimates contained in last week’s USDA crop production report pegged 2024 American lentil output at 432,640 tonnes, up 72% from last year’s crop of 260,450. Chickpea output is seen jumping 33% to 278,140 tonnes, while the dry pea crop is estimated up 8% at 874,440 tonnes.
The entire year-over-year increase in expected lentil production is due to a major increase in harvested area at 900,000 acres. That is up 14% from the USDA’s June estimate and 78% above the prior year. On the other hand, the USDA is projecting this year’s average lentil yield at 1,060 lbs/acre, down 38 lbs from 2023.
For dry peas, harvested area is now estimated at 947,000 acres, down 4% from June but still up 2% on the year. The average forecasted yield, at 33.9 bu/acre, is almost 2 bu above last year.
Chickpea harvested area is pegged at 496,900 acres, 2% higher than the June estimate and 40% above 2023. This year’s average US yield is estimated at 1,234 lbs/acre, down 62 lbs from last year.
In model-based estimates released earlier this week, Statistics Canada put this year’s Canadian lentil crop at 2.59 million tonnes, up 44% from last year, with an average yield of 1,379 lbs/acre. The pea crop was estimated by StatsCan at 3.16 million tonnes, a 21.1% increase from last year, with an average yield of 37 bu/acre. At 327,200 tonnes, projected chickpea production is up almost 106% from last year, with an average yield of 1,543 lbs/acre.
