Sask lentils a hot item in United Arab Emirates

The province exported $174 million in lentils alone, making them the top agri-food export to the UAE this year.

MOOSOMIN — The United Arab Emirates continues to be a hot market for Saskatchewan lentils, according to numbers released regarding grain exports to that market. From January to October of 2024, the province exported $322 million worth of agri-food products to the UAE, marking a 19 per cent increase over the year previous. 

“Any time we get the opportunity to grow a market, the better off it is for our producers here in the province, because we rely heavily on exports and having an increase like that is just invaluable,” said provincial Agriculture Minister Daryl Harrison. “We have to not only appreciate that, but we have to work on maintaining and growing that. The long and the short of it is, we produce the food the world needs. It’s a growing population, and we’re here to feed them.”

More than half of those exports to the UAE were lentils, which saw a 31 per cent increase over the same time as 2023. Over those 10 months this year, the province exported $174 million in lentils alone, making them the top agri-food export to the UAE. Other top exports included canola ($56 million) and non-durum wheat ($33 million).

“I think producers are going to examine their crop rotations, and there’s lots of variables,” Harrison said when asked if the jump in the pulse crop might have growers considering a change in what they seed come spring. “It’s no different this coming growing season than others, they’ll factor in the cost of each crop, the potential market and all that. From a provincial government standpoint, our trade offices around the world are just paying off hugely. We have to not only sustain the markets we have and grow them, but we have to find new markets as well.”

One target in the province’s 2030 Growth Plan was to hit $20 million in agri-food exports, which has been surpassed. Last year not only marked the fourth year in a row where Saskatchewan hit record agri-food exports, but total shipments came to $20.2 billion.

“It’s quality and quantity of crop, and reliability,” Harrison said. “We have to make sure we can get our product to our buyers when they need it.”

Producers a few decades ago likely wouldn’t even have consider such a market, let alone imagine such export numbers.

“You think back 50 years ago and it was a completely different world,” Harrison said. “We were the bread basket and that’s kind of what we grew. We grew wheat and we grew feed for livestock. The transformation when you look back on it, it’s hard to believe, but it’s growing by leaps and bounds. I can’t be more proud of our producers here in the province.”

Another local voice couldn’t agree more.

“Saskatchewan’s network of International Trade and Investment offices, including our UAE office, is essential for Saskatchewan producers to expand access into new global markets,” Trade and Export Development Minister Warren Kaeding said. “It is more important than ever to diversify and grow our export markets. Our province’s producers provide the food and energy security the world needs. I look forward to continuing to build on our relationship with the UAE and further increase bilateral trade, bringing new investment and creating more jobs for Saskatchewan people.”

Combined exports for 2022 and 2023 totalled $102 billion, up over 52 per cent from the previous two-year timeframe and the top export numbers in the history of Saskatchewan.

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