International Grains Council (IGC) published a press release on the occasion of World Pulses Day 2022. Sharing the latest data on world pulses trade, IGC emphasized that the demand for pulses is expected to increase despite the decrease in the trade last year.

The following are the highlights of IGC:

Pulses, which are nutrient-rich and resilient to climate change, have an increasingly important role to play in the promotion of the global food system – particularly in the context of climate change. Moreover, demand for pulses is expected to climb in future years given the growing global population, rising income levels and evolving food consumption trends.

 Asia is by far the largest consuming region and has been the main driver of growth in trade. Global import demand for pulses reached a peak of more than 18.0m t in 2017, before declining sharply in 2018 as India – the world’s biggest consumer – imposed restrictions on arrivals as a means of protecting the local market. However, volumes returned to growth in the following years, with China emerging as the biggest buyer. In 2021, global trade retreated by 9% y/y against the backdrop of much tighter availabilities in Canada, the largest exporter. In the current year, a further modest fall in volumes is expected, of 2% y/y, to 16.0m t, on marginal reduction in shipments to Asia.

With effect from 1 November 2021, pulses and their products were formally included in the definition of “grain” or “grains” within the Grains Trade Convention, 1995, as administered by the IGC, to reflect their growing importance over a sustained time period. In recent years, the IGC has developed comprehensive analysis of world supply and demand for dry peas, lentils and chickpeas, as well as building extensive trade matrices for dry peas, lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans, urad/mung beans, broad beans and minor pulses. Analysis of supply and demand and trade flows are published every month in the Grain Market Report (GMR), while the IGC will continue to expand its world market coverage as part of its ongoing programme of work.