Canadian yellow pea producers will now face tariffs in each of their main export markets after India introduced a brand new 30 per cent levy on all imported yellow peas starting Nov. 1.
A a authorities notification issued late on Wednesday mentioned shipments with a invoice of lading dated on or earlier than Oct. 31, 2025, might be exempt from the responsibility, the order mentioned.
The federal government had earlier allowed duty-free imports of yellow peas till March 31, 2026, however home farmers had urged authorities to curb the inflow of low cost imports that had been pressuring native costs.
The South Asian nation is the world’s largest importer of yellow peas, which it imports primarily from Canada and Russia.
In a letter to federal ministers of agriculture and worldwide commerce Thursday, Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Minister Daryl Harrison mentioned Ottawa wants to right away negotiate with India, saying the brand new tariffs add further pressure along with Chinese language tariffs.
China imposed a 100 per cent tariff on Canadian yellow peas in March, adopted by new tariffs on Canada’s canola imports. It was seen as an act of retaliation for Canada’s introduction of tariffs on Chinese language electrical autos.
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“India is an extremely essential marketplace for Saskatchewan with $480 million of pea exports being shipped into India in 2024. Now, greater than ever, Saskatchewan’s and Canada’s producers and exporters want certainty,” Harrison wrote.
“These commerce disruptions influence all the provide chain and are having rapid penalties for producers, companies, and jobs. We have to get again to tariff free commerce.”
Greg Cherewyk is the president of Pulse Canada, the nationwide affiliation representing growers and processors of peas, beans, and lentils.
He mentioned he noticed the tariff coming however didn’t count on it to land so quickly.
“We had been listening to in regards to the potential for a tariff because the early a part of September, which isn’t uncommon in India,” mentioned Cherewyk.
Cherewyk mentioned that, in contrast to China’s retaliatory tariffs, this tariff is aimed solely at India’s home pursuits.
The tariff assertion from India says it’s being imposed to curb cheaper imports of yellow peas to assist home farmers.
Cherewyk mentioned the tariff has main implications for pea farmers throughout Canada.
“We’ve already seen yellow pea costs drop by 43 per cent [from February 2025 to the end of September 2025], so it’s extremely vital when it comes to worth on the farm,” he mentioned.
Cherewyk additionally mentioned that dropping entry to these profitable markets in India and China removes an outlet for tens of millions of tonnes of peas.
He mentioned that whereas processing capability for peas has been increasing in Canada, permitting growers to promote their crops to the pet meals and livestock feed industries, these markets can’t exchange India and China.
“It’s essential to notice we’re working, it’s incremental, the expansion is there, however it isn’t going to interchange these markets in a single day and it ought to by no means be checked out as an either-or,” he mentioned.
– With recordsdata from World’s Ari Rabinovitch and Sean Boynton, and the Canadian Press
