Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), a leading merchant and processor of agricultural goods, announced the creation of a new business unit dedicated to global pulses commercialization, as part of the Group’s strategic growth plans to reinforce core merchandizing activities and diversify into new business lines.  

“Pulses have gained prominence as a primary source of plant-based proteins and are also an ally for sustainable agriculture, as crops with properties that improve soil health and reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. The decision to establish this new business unit is therefore fully aligned with our strategy to meet evolving nutritional and sustainability expectations from customers, reflected in both global production and demand growth,” said Michael Gelchie, LDC’s Chief Executive Officer. “Pulses also present geographic and operational synergies with LDC’s existing business activities and, as such, have the potential to contribute significantly to earnings, leveraging our already strong research, trading and risk management capabilities.” 

Counting over 100 different types of pulses, including beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils and other categories, pulses are staples that are increasingly consumed globally, in particular in major importing markets in the Indian subcontinent, China and the Middle East. Global production is expected to reach 98 million MT by 2032, and traded volumes to exceed 23 million MT, to meet this demand, especially from key export markets such as Australia, Canada and East Africa. 

“Building on LDC’s presence in key production and consumption markets, our new Pulses business unit will initially focus on yellow peas, chickpeas, red lentils, faba beans and pigeon peas, capitalizing on our established domestic trading presence in key origination and destination markets around the world – in particular, our origination capabilities in key producing regions of Australia and Canada, as well as our trading presence in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, which positions us well to serve these major consumption hubs,” said Rubens Marques, LDC’s Head of South & Southeast Asia. The new global unit will be led by Mr. Saurabh Bhartia, who joins the Group as Head of Trading for Pulses.