Lentils Market: Steady but Undersupplied Pulses Keep Upside Risk Alive

Black gram, a key pulse closely linked to lentil pricing in South Asia, is trading broadly steady as Indian mills buy hand-to-mouth and Myanmar offers stabilize after a brief spike. Structural undersupply in India’s black gram balance and firm demand from food processors keep a mild upside bias intact despite fresh domestic arrivals.

Across the global lentil complex, this creates an interesting contrast: pulses as a group remain fundamentally tight in India, while Canadian and Australian lentils are available at relatively low price levels. For European and Middle Eastern buyers, this combination supports range-bound lentil prices with a slight upward tilt into Q2, especially if South Asian demand improves after the current wait-and-see phase.

📈 Prices & Recent Moves

Indian black gram (urad) markets were broadly steady on Thursday, with only marginal firming in Mumbai, as mills limited purchases to immediate needs. Myanmar-origin FAQ and SQ grades corrected after a sharp rise on 25 March, removing near-term panic but not changing the tight structural picture. At the same time, FOB indications for lentils remain relatively soft compared with recent years, particularly in Canada and Australia.

Product	Origin	Spec	Latest Price (EUR/t, FOB)	1-week change (EUR/t)
Lentils dried, small green, organic	China (Beijing)	99.5% purity	1,260	+20
Lentils dried, small green	China (Beijing)	99.5% purity	1,170	-10
Lentils dried, red “football”	Canada (Ottawa)	conventional	2,600	+20
Lentils dried, Laird green	Canada (Ottawa)	conventional	1,770	+20
Lentils dried, Eston green	Canada (Ottawa)	conventional	1,670	+20

Australian track bids for bulk lentils (e.g. Port Adelaide) are reported around EUR 580–600/t equivalent, near multi‑year lows, reflecting large combined Canadian–Australian supplies and a generally subdued price environment compared with the past five years when levels often exceeded EUR 800/t equivalent.

🌍 Supply & Demand

The core pulse signal comes from India’s black gram market. Myanmar-origin FAQ at around USD 845/t CFR and SQ at USD 940/t into Chennai have eased from the 25 March spike, but import flows remain critical given limited domestic output and low government buffers. Central buffer stocks of only about 80,000 t of black gram, versus roughly 220,000 t in green gram, underline structural tightness in India’s pulse complex.

Fresh arrivals from Andhra Pradesh are helping to cap prices in key hubs like Guntur and Vijayawada, yet production there is still below last year. Demand from papad manufacturers and South Indian cuisine provides a stable offtake base, keeping mills active even as they avoid large forward coverage. This environment tends to support substitution into other pulses, including lentils, if relative prices turn more attractive.

On the export side, Canada and Australia enter 2026 with substantial lentil carry and good exportable surpluses, which have pushed lentil prices to multi‑year lows. Combined supply from these origins is expected to keep international lentil markets well covered, even if India or North African buyers increase imports later in the year.

📊 Fundamentals & External Factors

Two opposing forces are shaping the near-term pulse and lentil outlook. First, the softening of Myanmar black gram prices after 25 March has reduced immediate upward pressure and encouraged Indian mills to buy only as needed. Second, structurally low Indian black gram stocks and below‑par crops in Andhra Pradesh keep the market undersupplied, with consumption demand remaining resilient.

Weather-wise, late-winter and early-spring conditions across the Canadian Prairies remain variable, with lingering cold and recent storm systems but no acute new drought shock reported in the past few days. For now, this suggests no urgent weather-driven premium for Canadian lentils, though moisture conditions through April–May will be critical for seeding and yield expectations.

Macro conditions are neutral to slightly supportive: freight markets remain volatile but manageable, and currency moves have not fundamentally altered export competitiveness for Canadian and Australian lentils in the last week. With pulses in India structurally tight and Western hemispheric exporters relatively comfortable on supply, regional price spreads rather than absolute surges are likely to dominate in the short term.

📆 Short-Term Outlook & Trading Recommendations

Over the next two to three weeks, Indian mills are likely to maintain their wait‑and‑watch approach, closely tracking Myanmar offers before committing to larger black gram purchases. As South Indian seasonal consumption continues, any renewed firmness in Myanmar or signs of slower arrivals in Andhra Pradesh could quickly translate into higher pulse prices, indirectly underpinning imported lentils as a competitive alternative protein.

• Importers/Packers (EU, MENA): Use current multi‑year low export offers from Canada and Australia to extend coverage modestly into late Q2, especially for green lentils, but avoid over‑buying given still‑ample supply.
• Indian buyers: Continue selective coverage in black gram but monitor spreads versus imported lentils; if Myanmar prices stabilise or rebound, consider shifting part of demand into lentils where trade policies allow.
• Producers (Canada/Australia): Price small incremental volumes on current rallies but keep some unpriced stocks in case Indian demand for pulses strengthens after this hand‑to‑mouth phase.

📉 3-Day Directional Price Indication (EUR)

• FOB Canada (Ottawa) lentils (red & green): Sideways to mildly firm (+0–5 EUR/t) as buyers test the market at current low levels.
• FOB China (Beijing) small green lentils: Narrow range with slight firming bias for organic grades (+0–5 EUR/t), conventional steady.
• South Asia pulse complex (incl. lentil imports into India/Bangladesh): Steady to fractionally higher as the market digests Myanmar’s recent price correction and watches Indian demand.