Trade-related uncertainty is one of the primary themes of 2025. From a pulse perspective, the industry is currently facing a 100% tariff on Canadian peas entering China, a 10% tariff on Canadian lentils entering India, and ongoing uncertainty about tariffs in the United States. It is more important than ever to prioritize market development and diversification of Canadian pulses into new uses and markets worldwide.
In a recent conversation with Dr. Julianne Curran, Vice President of Market Innovation at Pulse Canada, Amber Johnson, Director of Marketing & Communications at Saskatchewan Pulse Growers (SPG), talked about their shared initiatives that prioritize market development and diversification.
Johnson says, “85% of Canadian pulses are exported, and Canadian peas and lentils in particular are largely exported to just two or three countries, which are often markets facing growing uncertainty or an unpredictable trade environment. That presents risks to the industry and to grower profitability.” Mitigating that risk requires a multifaceted strategy involving the expansion of geographic areas, as well as the diversification of pulses and pulse ingredients into new uses.
Balancing Value and Volume
Before 2025, Pulse Canada’s diversification efforts primarily focused on packaged goods in the U.S. and Europe. Dr. Curran says, “The level of risk in the markets has really accelerated and expanded our efforts toward diversification. We recognize the need for more markets outside the U.S. for higher-value applications, such as packaged food. We also want to be able to move large volumes quickly if needed, given the significant volumes that are going to China and India.”
Dr. Curran says, “We’re continuing work on packaged food as a longer-term focus because it is a higher value, more stable market that prioritizes quality over lowest cost. We’re balancing this with a focus on pet food and livestock, poultry, and aquaculture feed as higher-volume, shorter-term opportunities. We’ve expanded our work into other geographic markets like Mexico and certain countries in Latin America and the Indo-Pacific region for feed, pet food, and packaged food.”
Focus on Pet Food
Pet food is not a new sector for the Canadian pulse industry, but it is part of the adjusted approach for outreach. Dr. Curran says, “Pet food has become an increasingly important market for pulses – peas in particular. We have seen a large volume of peas being incorporated into pet food, particularly in the U.S., as well as significant growth in launches featuring other pulse types, such as lentil and chickpea. The pet food sector is important, since it is a high volume category, and with most of the pulse use being in premium pet products, it offers higher value than feed.”
While the growth of pulses in pet food has been largely driven by demand for grain-free formulations, Pulse Canada is now focused on expanding the use of pulses for reasons beyond grain-free. Dr. Curran says, “We want to leverage other attributes such as nutrition, their health benefits, as well as sustainability benefits. It is becoming more important for pet food manufacturers to improve the carbon footprint of their pet food products. Pulse ingredients meet both requirements.”
With pet ownership and pet food production expanding into geographic markets beyond the U.S. and Europe, Pulse Canada has added a dedicated pet food innovation specialist to its team to develop markets in Mexico, South America, and the Indo-Pacific.
Marketing Canadian Chickpeas
Chickpeas were not included in previous market development strategies, as their growth was expected to drive itself. However, industry feedback has presented a challenge that Canadian chickpeas have been struggling to find markets due to their smaller seed size.
Dr. Curran says, “We are looking at how we can position smaller-seeded varieties for further processing applications that work with smaller-seeded varieties, such as milled flour applications, hummus and purees, or pet food, where seed size does not impact product quality or performance.”
Value-Added Food Markets
Pulse Canada has identified growth in demand for processing, packaged foods, and foodservice applications in Europe, as well as Latin America and the Indo-Pacific region. Dr. Curran says, “We’ve been actively marketing Canadian lentils to European audiences through meetings and events, with a focus on Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. We will continue this focus over the next few years. We have also identified a promising market for pulses and pulse ingredients in processing and packaged food in countries like Japan and South Korea.”
New Geographical Markets
In the Indo-Pacific region, Pulse Canada has spent the last few years focused on marketing peas for feed applications for swine, poultry, and aquaculture. Canadian peas have been a success story in the feed market in China; now the market development team is looking for ways to expand into surrounding regions. Dr. Curran says, “We’ve done feeding trials with companies and research institutions in Thailand and Vietnam. While doing this work, we also began exploring opportunities to expand pet food, as many of these companies also have pet food divisions that are interested in exploring the potential for peas and lentils in pet food formulations.”
In Latin America, the market development team has a dedicated focus on Mexico, encompassing packaged food, pet food, and feed. Dr. Curran says, “There is a lot of capacity that we can leverage in Mexico, with the trade commissioners and provincial government regional offices. They allow us to participate in key events and connect directly with major players.” In South America, the short-term focus is on exploring opportunities for feed in Colombia and Chile.
These initiatives demonstrate the commitment of SPG and Pulse Canada to exploring global market opportunities on behalf of pulse growers – diversifying markets and growing demand despite trade uncertainty. Diversified markets mean steady demand and stable pricing on pulse crops, which supports growers’ bottom lines.
