High Tariffs in China and India Put Pressure on Canadian Yellow Peas

24-Dec-2025 04:22 PM

Vancouver. Last year, India and China were the two largest buyers of Canadian yellow peas, but this year, both countries imposed heavy tariffs on them. This has put pressure on the Canadian market. Increased competition from Russia has also contributed to softer prices for yellow peas.

In a retaliatory move, the Chinese government imposed a massive 100 percent import tariff on Canadian peas in March 2025. According to Pulse Canada, a leading industry organization, China typically imported an average of 1.5 million tonnes of peas from Canada annually, but in 2024, this dropped to around 500,000 tonnes. In the 2025-26 marketing season,

shipments under license-free facilities further decreased to just 70,400 tonnes, less than 8 percent of Canada's total pea shipments of 892,000 tonnes. In the 2024-25 season, 263,000 tonnes were imported, representing more than 26 percent of Canada's total exports.

As for India, there was a cat-and-mouse game regarding pea import duties throughout 2025. The deadline for duty-free imports was extended several times, continuing until October 2025. However, the government imposed a 30 percent customs duty from November onwards.

The massive duty-free imports of yellow peas were considered a major reason for the decline in prices of various pulses in the domestic market. Although the industry was demanding a 50 percent duty, the government imposed only a 30 percent customs duty.

In Western Canadian markets, the average delivered price for yellow peas on December 19th ranged between $6.50 and $7.38 per bushel.

In 2025, the price ranged from a high of $11.40 to a low of $5.94 per bushel. Pea production in Canada increased from approximately 3 million tons in the 2024-25 season to 3.93 million tons in the 2025-26 season.