April 1, 2026
Cameron Underwood, Pulse Merchant for Columbia Grain International, breaks down the US yellow pea and chickpea trade during a turbulent year. He discusses expectations for upcoming seedings, and explores the ways shuttered food aid programmes, Asian trade barriers, and a booming pet food sector reshaped the US pulse market this year.
Fractionation demand for yellow peas has been strong this year, with an increase of 10-15 KMT.
“Early this year, we tried to get a programme going of US yellow pea exports to India. In recent years, there have been some legislative changes, meaning peas entering India have to be completely free of weed seed and nematode. This year, more so than last year, we've seen an increase in shipments that get flagged for these. We had a very large percentage of peas that failed those tests, and it basically made peas unexportable to India. In the end, we ditched the program ourselves, and I think some other companies followed suit.”
Pakistan has become a key buyer of US kabulis recently. This year’s exports could reach 17 KMT, a ten-year record.
Pulses 26 / US pulse market / yellow pea exports / chickpea acreage / pea fractionation / pet food industry trends / agricultural trade barriers
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