The COO of ETG Pulses, Loveraj Rai talks to Sonia Sharma about sustainable agricultural practices, initiatives that the company is working on and factors impacting global trends.
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I am the Chief Operating Officer of ETG, overlooking the Canadian business for the ETG Pulses vertical. I began my career with ETG as an accounting intern in 2013, progressing through various roles from grassroots levels to strategic within operations. I was appointed to the position of COO in 2018.
ETG Pulses is one of the world’s largest trusted processors, supply chain managers and exporters of safe, premium quality food products and ingredients. We have a large origination network spanning five continents with more than 24 state-of-the-art processing facilities in all major growing and consumption regions.
We have opened our offices in Europe and Mexico to expand our pulses offering in retail and at the distribution level to better serve customers. We are also working on expanding into South America and Argentina adding a sixth continent to our origination network this year. Our vision is to be a leading farm-to-fork platform in plant-based protein.
We will strengthen our supply chain to the last mile beginning at the farm all the way through to fork, starting from food manufacturing and processing, splitting, distribution and shipping to reach the end consumer.
We’ve seen many different trends ongoing; some of the major ones include government policies, automation and investment in farming technology, and innovation in food products utilizing specialty pulses.
Government policies in various markets have significant impacts on the agricultural supply chain. For example, the Russia-Ukraine conflict is resulting in changing trade lanes due to sanctions which affects the supply chain globally.
Also, there is a significant amount of automation and investment in research and development that is ongoing to improve farming practices and technologies in North America. The result of this investment is improved and more predictable crop yields.
We also see an extensive food revolution taking place that will take shape over the next decade; we are seeing a lot of high protein specialty crops and pulses being used for new and innovative food products being introduced to consumers, a trend that we expect to continue long-term.
As an innovative food products and ingredients company, we are going to be leading this plant-based food revolution.
“As an innovative food products and ingredients company, we are going to be leading this plant-based food revolution.”
As we look at key markets, the El Nino weather cycle will be a major factor that we are closely watching as it can have a large impact on key markets such as India and Australia. El Nino has historically been responsible for dry weather conditions bringing severe droughts in regions such as Australia while impacting monsoons in India, which will have a negative effect on crops in both countries. Droughts will affect the amount of supply being generated in Australia and will shift demand requirements in India.
I think that given India’s importance in the lentil market - it consumes 30-40% of the total world supply - its ongoing import policies have an outsized effect on the entire market, and this will continue to be the case for the foreseeable future.
Looking ahead, we see that COVID-19 disruptions are finally beginning to subside and supply chain disruptions in particular are improving. Better equipment availability and improved transit times will allow for a smoother flow of product from origin to destination, which helps the industry overall.
Fundamentally, all countries are very similar. The differences between markets come from local food customs and dietary preferences in countries which impact consumption - for example, pulses are a fundamental part of the local diet in the middle east and Indian subcontinent, whereas they are relatively new to the North American and European markets.
Yes, I think consumer interest and awareness of pulses has strongly increased in recent years. For example, the demand for chickpeas as a primary ingredient in hummus over the last decade has increased significantly as hummus has gained massive global popularity, going from a snack popular primarily in the middle east to a household staple food item. There is a significant shift amongst consumers looking to explore alternatives to meat-based protein that are interested in increasing pulse consumption.
Sustainable practices are embedded in our culture and the way we do business. ETG’s sustainability department coordinates the group’s sustainability strategy, oversees health and safety, compliance with lender and shareholder sustainability requirements, and supports the business units with sustainability-related projects and partnerships.
The ETG Management System (ETGMS) provides a framework of policies and procedures in line with international quality, environmental, and social standards. ETGMS is regularly updated to keep it relevant and meet the increasing expectations of regulatory agencies and the stakeholders. In addition, many of our supply chains and facilities are certified to standards like Rainforest Alliance, organic, BRC, ISCC Plus, ISO standards, and GMP+ which pose extra requirements on product quality, environmental and social governance, and traceability.
ETG’s sustainability drivers are both external – customer, lender, shareholder, and regulatory requirements – and internal – ETG’s corporate values of Respect, Integrity and Leadership and its development into a global, diversified business conglomerate which proactively embraces its responsibility as a corporate citizen.
We launched Naturz in February of this year. Naturz is a retail brand of plant-based pulses offering families high quality food, due to its unique manufacturing process with healthy ingredients. Naturz is a new brand for Canadian consumers, an innovative product for those who like whole, nutritious foods, while taking care of their health. Most of the Naturz varieties are made in Canada and offered in 16 varieties packaged in 2lbs and 4lbs retail bags.
Naturz is also vegan, kosher and halal certified with no artificial colouring or preservatives so you know it’s Healthy Goodness You Can Trust. We have initially launched in the ethnic specialty grocery retailers in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada and consumers are loving our brand. Naturz is a natural vertical integration for us. It brings us one step closer to our end consumers.
“I see pulses at the forefront of the food revolution of the 21st century. “
Pulses have been the predominant protein source and a dietary staple in several regions of the world dating back thousands of years. Pulses are good for both humans and the earth; they have a low carbon footprint and enrich soil naturally with nitrogen when they are grown. The future is bright for pulses; I see pulses at the forefront of the food revolution of the 21st century.
They will shift from being a dry bean prepared to eat as-is to an essential ingredient in a majority of food items, replacing meat-based proteins. There is a lot of innovation yet to come in the application of pulses into new and exciting healthy food products that we are just beginning to see.
Disclaimer: The opinions or views expressed in this publication are those of the authors or quoted persons. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Global Pulse Confederation or its members.
