Russia, the world’s top exporter of peas, announced on Saturday a fixed 5% export duty on peas, chickpeas and lentils from Jan. 1, effectively lowering the duty by 30% after exports of pulses slowed and left large volumes unsold.
The flexible duty, applied previously, could go up to 7% depending on the rouble’s exchange rate. The measure will help maintain a balanced ratio between exports and domestic consumption of legumes, the government said in a statement.
“Any actions that reduce uncertainty have a positive impact on the market. Previously, the tariff changed depending on the average dollar exchange rate, forcing traders to act too cautiously,” said Sergei Pluzhnikov, head of Russian Pulses Analytics.
Pluzhnikov estimated that the measure implied a de-facto 30% reduction in the duty.
Russian production of pulses has boomed in the last two years, with many farmers switching to more profitable pulses from wheat, currently the country’s main agricultural export.
In 2023, the country became the world’s largest exporter of peas, exporting 2.9 million tons of peas and surpassing former top exporter Canada, mostly due to booming exports to China.
Russia has also begun exporting pulses to India, another major consumer.
According to IKAR consultancy, pea exports to China slowed sharply to 0.7 million metric tons from July to December, the first part of the 2024/2025 exporting season, compared to 1.7 million tons during the same period of last year.
Despite a record large seeded area under pulses, this year’s crop fell to 4 million tons from a record 4.7 million last year, due to bad weather. IKAR said that with slowing exports, large volumes of pulses remain unsold.
Pluzhnikov said that the world’s major consumers of pulses – China, India and Turkey – have been less active this year and still hold large stocks accumulated in recent years.