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U.S. Pulses Have Potential In India
By Jill Lee
India: A Case for Quantity?
Pulses, such as beans, lentils and chickpeas, are the "meat" of India–the main source of protein for most of its 1 billion people.
India’s huge and growing demand for pulses has created an import market of 700,000 tons despite the fact that it remains the world’s largest producer.
The U.S. market share, however, is only 2 percent and falling, while Canadian sales rose from 73,000 tons in 1996 to about 220,000 last year. Weyland Beeghley, an FAS agricultural counselor in New Delhi, India, says the reason is simple: Canada offers lower quality, but affordable pulses.
Indian importers acknowledge that U.S. peas are superior to
Canadian and other origins due to their stricter grading and more
sophisticated processing, but insist that the market for
premium-priced, individually packaged peas is tiny and likely to
remain so.
Indian buyers point out that the United States has more consistent growing conditions than Canada and prices of competing crops are low in both countries. If Canada can expand its acreage and production and offer a "medium-quality" product in bulk, why can’t the United States?
Pete Johnstone, president and CEO of Spokane Seed Company, Spokane Wash., answers that question in two words: "size matters."
"For every million acres Canada can put in dry peas the United States can only plant about 100,000," he said. "They have a growing area that dwarfs our mainly three-state region. This vast amount of land lets Canada trade in dried peas like a bulk commodity–the same way the United States can trade in wheat, rice and corn."
Johnstone says the only way he envisions the United States regaining the Indian bulk pea market is if Canada changed its crop mix to one more focused on cereals. He does not expect that will happen soon.
Wheat and other cereal grains are low-priced right now. And, even if U.S. farmers produced bargain peas, the exchange rate would still favor the Canadians.
Johnstone’s company, started by his grandfather in 1908, represents several hundred lentil and pea farmers in Oregon, Montana, Idaho and Washington. It’s in his interest to expand the pulse market.
One way to reach low-cost bulk consumers is through a new crop variety.
Pardina: New, Small, Grey & Cheap
Historically, chickpeas have been India’s single largest pulse import. Recently, however, peas have overtaken them thanks to Canada’s attractive prices.
In some ways, this is good news for the U.S. industry as it shows that Indians are adaptive in their selection of pulses.
India also offers market potential for various types of beans and lentils, as long as pricing is competitive.
Here is where scientists, and Spanish inspiration, may have given U.S. pulse producers a secret weapon.
"It’s a new lentil variety called Pardina–the smallest, and currently the least expensive lentil grown on the planet," said Johnstone. "It’s doing well in Spain and the Mediterranean region. Actually, it is based on a Spanish variety. The thing is, Pardina is specifically adapted to growing conditions in the United States. You can’t grow Pardina in Canada–or anywhere else."
Pardina differs from most lentils. It is grey in color, and a little smaller than a an average lentil.
A New Generation of Pea Producers
Peas are another popular Indian food, fortuitously for U.S. farmers, many of whom plant peas in a cycle rotation with wheat. The 1996 FAIR Act expanded the number of states covered for pea production.
Now, North Dakota, Montana and a few other states with a Canadian-like climate are giving peas a try. Their product fits the middle-quality lower cost bill, says Beeghley, and it is these states which may enable the United States. to rebuild its market share in India’s huge and growing bulk market.
India: A Case for Quality?
Johnstone’s company sells dried peas in India’s high-quality niche market. His brand, called Rumba, has a reputation for quality that’s been both a blessing and a curse.
"People will take an empty burlap bag that Rumba was shipped in, re-fill it with Canadian peas and sell it. I’ve tried to stop it, I’ve hired lawyers, even private detectives, but I haven’t had much luck."
Now, Johnstone laments, Indian buyers see Rumba as two categories: Rumba One, which is his product and sells for a premium; and Rumba Two, which is just his bag filled with alien peas. Both are familiar products that are actively marketed in India.
Quality is the U.S. calling card, says Johnstone, and it’s worked well in the Philippines, where pea cooking quality and flavor are make-or-break factors. Why not target the market that works for you?
Also, people in Manila enjoy roasted peas for snacking. These have to have an appealing appearance–without breaks or discoloration. Their demands make this Asian market a natural for U.S. farmers, with their stringent quality controls.
India’s snack pea industry is small in comparison, but if it grows, Johnstone said, it might be another way U.S. peas could gain a foothold. The only problem: snacks are a purchase choice of wealthy nations. Much more than in the Philippines, India’s people make food choices not for pleasure, but for sustenance.
India: A Market With a Future
There’s every indication that this huge market for pulses will continue to grow. Not only is India’s population increasing by 18 million per year, but production of pulses has languished as government research and price supports have favored cereal grains over other foodstuffs. As a result, per capita availability of pulses has fallen to just 38 grams per day, one-half the level of the early 1960s.
Pulse Preferences by Region
In India, consumers chose different types of pulses, based on
tastes or cooking practices in the different parts of the
country. 
In the North: Chickpeas and products are popular. Chickpea flour is used to prepare various snack foods. Kidney beans (rajmah) and black-eyed beans (lobia) also are popular in this region.
In the South: Pigeon peas and urd, also know as black matpe, are popular here. Mung bean flour forms several snack items such as bari, spiced balls of ground pulses.
Throughout India: Peas are cooked and eaten as snack foods or used as fillers in traditional snacks such as samosas. Split yellow peas and pea flour are increasingly being blended with similar looking, but more expensive, split chickpeas and flour. Lentils are generally served along with rice as dal. Dal, garnished with onions and spices, is an indispensable entree in roadside dhabas (quick, cheap eateries). Dal also is found on menus of five-star hotels.
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The author is a public affairs specialist with the FAS Information Division, USDA, Washington, D.C. Tel.: (202) 720-7939; Fax: (202) 720-1727; e-mail: leejill@fas.usda.gov
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