Lentils Under Pressure as Weak Indian Dal Demand Weighs on Global Pulses

India’s pulse complex is facing renewed softness, with black gram (urad) prices easing across major mandis and imports from Myanmar getting cheaper. This weak tone in a key pulse segment is reinforcing cautious buying by dal mills and contributes to a generally defensive sentiment across the wider pulses complex, including lentils, over the next few weeks. Despite the seasonal consumption support from weddings and festivals, Indian processors are purchasing only on a hand-to-mouth basis. At the same time, domestic urad supplies from rabi and summer crops are flowing steadily, while imports continue to arrive at lower parity levels. Against this backdrop, global lentil exporters in Canada and China are seeing modest price pressure and a market that is highly sensitive to any further evidence of sluggish South Asian dal demand.

Prices

Current indicative export prices converted to EUR (approximate FX: 1 CAD ≈ 0.68 EUR; 1 CNY ≈ 0.13 EUR):

Canadian red lentil cash bids across the Prairies are broadly aligned with these weaker FOB indications, with recent postings confirming a soft but orderly market tone as seeding advances slowly in parts of Saskatchewan and Alberta. 

Supply & Demand

On the pulse side, India’s black gram market continues to slip as cheaper Myanmar offers filter quickly into domestic prices. Imported FAQ urad for May–June shipment has fallen by about USD 5 per tonne, compressing import parity and removing a key support for Indian spot values. Dal mills are operating defensively, buying only to cover immediate needs rather than building stocks.

Domestic urad supplies are comfortable: rabi arrivals from Andhra Pradesh remain steady, while summer-crop arrivals from Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have started and are expected to accelerate through late May. This rising availability, combined with Myanmar softness, limits upside in Indian pulse prices in the near term and indirectly caps sentiment in related segments such as lentils, which compete for the same dal-processing and consumer demand.

Globally, India has recently seen mandi prices for several pulses, including masur (lentils), trading below MSP amid generally sluggish summer demand, underscoring that end-user pull is not yet strong enough to tighten markets. 

Fundamentals & Weather

Structurally, wedding and festive demand in India is providing some floor to pulse consumption but has not been sufficient to absorb the current supply overhang at higher price levels in urad. This suggests that any rally in imported lentils into South Asia would likely meet resistance unless there is a clear weather or policy shock.

In Canada, early-season reports indicate that seeding of field crops, including pulses, is off to a slower-than-average start in Saskatchewan and Alberta due to cold conditions and intermittent snow. However, agronomists note that early planted crops are handling the cold reasonably well, and limited moisture is expected to allow seeding progress to accelerate in mid-May, pointing toward adequate 2026/27 lentil supply barring a later-season weather event. 

Medium-range weather outlooks for the Prairies call for generally dry to fair conditions into late May, which should be favourable for catching up on lentil sowings and securing a solid acreage base. 

Short-Term Outlook

Over the next two weeks, the balance of risks for pulses remains skewed to the downside. In India, urad prices are expected to stay under moderate pressure at least until summer arrivals peak and begin to tail off toward the end of May. In that environment, lentil import demand is likely to stay price-sensitive, with buyers preferring to book opportunistically on dips rather than chase higher offers.

For European and Middle Eastern buyers of lentils and other dal products, this suggests that CIF offers should remain competitive through late May, with only limited upside risk unless weather in major exporting origins deteriorates or India’s policy stance on pulse imports changes abruptly. Any sustained strengthening in Indian demand would first need to work off current urad and masur overhangs before materially tightening lentil balances.

Trading Recommendations

• Importers (EU/MENA): Consider staggered buying through late May while prices remain soft; use current FOB levels from Canada and China as benchmarks for negotiating small volume tenders.
• Exporters (Canada/China): Maintain competitive offers and be prepared for destination markets to resist price increases until clearer signals emerge from Indian dal mills and monsoon progress.
• Dal processors (India/Europe): Prioritise short-coverage strategies, adding limited forward coverage only if weather or policy headlines threaten supply; otherwise, the near-term bias in pulses, including lentils, remains mildly bearish.

3-Day Price Direction (Indicative, EUR)

• Canada FOB (Ottawa) green lentils: Stable to slightly softer (−0.01 to −0.02 EUR/kg potential).
• Canada FOB (Ottawa) red lentils: Mostly stable; downside limited but no strong catalyst for gains.
• China FOB (Beijing) small green lentils: Stable with mild downward bias amid export-oriented competition.