Manitoba’s planted pea acreage more than tripled to 224,000 acres in 2021, up from 65,000 in 2017.
That’s according to Manitoba’s agriculture ministry in a document that highlights the growth of the province’s dry pea sector and provides a bird’s-eye view of the industry.
Farm cash receipts for peas grew by 69 per cent between 2017 and 2021 in Manitoba. Last year, the province grew more than nine per cent of Canada’s total dry pea production. Most of the country’s peas (89 per cent) were produced in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
In terms of production, Manitoba produced 210,758 metric tonnes of dry peas in 2021, a slight drop from its peak production in 2020 (246,200 metric tonnes) but nearly triple its production from 2017 (80,300 metric tonnes). Prices have also gone up significantly, with dollars per metric tonne rising roughly 50 per cent from December 2020 (just over $300 per metric tonne) to December 2021 (just over $450 per metric tonne). According to the province, this rise in price is on par with most crops.
In 2020 and 2021, Manitoba exported $72 million and $32 million, respectively, of dry peas as dried, shelled, skinned or split peas. Since 2020, Manitoba has also been home to the world’s largest pea processing plant in Portage la Prairie.
For more information on the state of the dry pea industry in Manitoba, click here.
