Lentil Market Steady with Chickpea-Led Support and Firm Export Demand

Chickpea firmness in India is providing a soft floor to the broader pulses complex, including lentils, but abundant global supplies and a progressing rabi harvest keep any upside capped in the near term. Lentil prices are therefore biased to range-bound to slightly firm, with regional differences reflecting freight, quality and origin-specific supply.

Overall sentiment across pulses is cautious rather than bullish. In India, renewed demand from dal mills for chickpeas and thin old-crop stocks support pulse values, yet expectations of good rabi arrivals limit aggressive stock-building. Lentil exporters in Canada and Russia face solid structural demand from South and West Asia, but heightened competition and comfortable port stocks leave buyers in no rush. For European importers, short-term lentil offers should remain relatively stable, with modest basis adjustments more likely than large outright price moves.

📈 Prices & Recent Moves

Using the latest FOB offers as a proxy, the lentil market shows a broadly stable to mildly firmer picture across key origins in late March 2026. Price changes over the past two to three weeks are small, underscoring the current range-bound character of the market.

Origin / Type	Spec	FOB Location	Price (EUR/t)	1w Change (EUR/t)	2w Change (EUR/t)
China – small green	Conv., 99.5%	FOB Beijing	≈1,170	≈−10	≈−30
China – small green	Organic, 99.5%	FOB Beijing	≈1,260	≈+20	≈0
Canada – Eston green	Conventional	FOB Ottawa	≈1,670	≈+20	≈+30
Canada – Laird green	Conventional	FOB Ottawa	≈1,770	≈+20	≈+30
Canada – red “football”	Conventional	FOB Ottawa	≈2,600	≈+20	≈+20

(Indicative conversion from the latest USD offers; rounded to nearest 10 EUR.)

Chinese small green lentils remain competitive at the low end of the global price spectrum, with only marginal week-on-week moves. Canadian greens and reds show a slight upward drift, reflecting firm export demand and relatively better pricing power in value-added and high-quality segments.

🌍 Supply & Demand Context

The short-term pulse complex in India is shaped by chickpea dynamics. New-crop chickpeas in key Indian wholesale markets have firmed modestly on renewed dal mill demand, even as traders remain wary of chasing the rally ahead of larger rabi arrivals. Government procurement at the Minimum Support Price is underway and expected to scale up in major producing states, anchoring producer sentiment and indirectly supporting related pulses such as lentils.

Arrivals of chickpeas in western and southern Indian states have already eased from early-season peaks, while fresh flows from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are set to increase through April under broadly favourable weather. Old-crop desi chickpea stocks at farm level are thin, though imported port stocks remain comfortable. This combination points to a market that is underpinned but not tight, setting the tone for cautious mill buying in lentils as well.

Globally, lentil supply is ample. Canada, Australia and Turkey retain their role as leading exporters, with Russia and Kazakhstan adding meaningful volumes into Turkey and the broader Middle East. Recent industry data indicate that global lentil trade could reach close to 5 million tonnes in 2026, up strongly year on year, with Russia’s 2025 crop alone approaching 0.9 million tonnes and exports to Turkey sharply higher.

📊 Fundamentals & Weather

In India, lentils are grown largely in the same rain-fed rabi zones as chickpeas. The current rabi season has so far avoided major disruptive events; however, the India Meteorological Department has previously warned about a tendency toward warmer and drier late-winter conditions during February, which can stress wheat, chickpeas and lentils in northwestern and central regions.

For now, trade focus is on the pace of arrivals rather than yield loss. If weather stays broadly benign into April harvest, arrivals of both chickpeas and lentils into Indian mandis should increase, capping price rallies in local currency terms and moderating import demand for the remainder of the marketing year. Conversely, any late-season heat spike or rainfall event damaging chickpea pods could spill over into firmer lentil sentiment as mills seek alternative raw material.

Outside India, no major weather shock has emerged in the past few weeks in primary lentil-exporting regions. Canada and Russia are between marketing seasons; attention is shifting to spring planting intentions, with Canada expected to trim lentil area only marginally after a period of high prices, while Russia continues to expand from a low base.

📌 Market Drivers & Links to Chickpeas

• Dal mill demand: Renewed buying of chickpeas by Indian mills has lifted nearby pulse sentiment but remains strictly hand-to-mouth, limiting follow-through in lentils.
• Government procurement: Chickpea purchases at MSP underpin farm-gate returns and reduce downside risk for rabi pulses, including lentils, but they also slow the release of stocks onto the open market.
• Import parity: Australian chickpea offers into India are providing an effective cap on chickpea prices; by analogy, competitively priced Russian and Chinese lentils cap upside in higher-cost origins such as Canada.
• Structural demand: Turkey, India and the UAE remain core buyers of Canadian and Russian lentils, with robust trade flows but rising competition across origins.

📆 Short-Term Outlook (2–4 Weeks)

The near-term lentil outlook is for a continuation of range-bound to slightly firm pricing. Chickpea firmness and thin old-crop stocks offer support, but the advancing rabi harvest and strong global supply growth argue against a sustained bull run. Any notable appreciation in ocean freight or currency could matter more than intrinsic supply tightness in the coming month.

For European and Mediterranean buyers, import offers for Canadian greens and reds and Chinese small greens are likely to remain broadly stable in EUR terms, barring significant FX volatility. The main risk skew is that a weather or logistics disruption in India or the Black Sea could briefly tighten nearby availability and improve basis for Canadian exporters.

💡 Trading Outlook

• Importers (EU, MENA): Use current stability to cover Q2 physical needs on a staggered basis. Prioritise origin diversification (Canada/Russia/China) to mitigate regional weather and policy risk.
• Exporters (Canada, Russia, China): Maintain offer discipline; chickpea-led support allows for small basis improvements, but aggressive price hikes risk demand switching among origins.
• Dal millers & South Asian buyers: Continue hand-to-mouth procurement in line with chickpea strategy; scale up lentil coverage only on weather scares or if Indian arrivals underperform expectations.
• Risk management: Consider optionality on freight and FX (EUR/CAD, EUR/CNY) as secondary but potentially decisive drivers for landed lentil costs in Europe.

📉 3-Day Directional Outlook (Key FOB Origins)

• China – small green lentils (FOB Beijing): Stable to slightly soft in EUR; strong competition and adequate pipeline stocks.
• Canada – green lentils (Eston, Laird, FOB Ottawa): Stable to mildly firm; exporters testing slightly higher offers where nearby demand is active.
• Canada – red lentils (FOB Ottawa): Stable to mildly firm; strong structural demand but capped by cheaper greens from Black Sea and China.