The Manitoba Advantage in Pea Protein
Manitoba has an economical and sustainable land base with a good transportation network, making it an ideal location to grow the pea protein industry. Growing peas provides many soil and farm management benefits.
Manitoba’s Pea Industry
Peas are typically grown in the western regions of the province due to well-drained soil types.
- In 2022, over 188,600 acres of peas were planted in Manitoba, which has been rising in recent years.
- The majority of peas grown in Manitoba are yellow peas, used for food and animal feed industries.
- In 2022, Manitoba produced 255,558 tonnes of dry peas, generating $94 million in cash receipts.
- Manitoba accounted for more than 7.5 per cent of Canada's pea production on 2022.
- Manitoba exported dry pea seeds, in both dried and shelled forms, with a value of $15 million in 2021, totalling 24,849 tonnes. In 2022, Manitoba exported $58.7 million worth of dry peas as dried, shelled or split peas.
Industry Associations
Market and Consumer Trends
Consumer demand for pea protein has grown in North America due to the growing demand for plant proteins. In addition to being an excellent source of protein, dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals, dry peas also contain 22.7 per cent protein. Concentrates, isolates and textured pea protein are highly specialized pea protein ingredients available in the global food industry. It is predicted that the pea protein isolate market will grow in the coming years.
Pea prices were very high for the first half of 2022, then declined in the second six months to average that period about the same as the last half of 2021.
Manitoba market prices for grains and oilseeds can be found here.
Research
Research advancing pea breading and pulse cropping systems at the University of Manitoba is focused on agronomic and economically essential criteria including disease resistance, yield and total protein content. In addition, university researchers are developing bioactive peptides with demonstrated antihypertensive properties and protein-rich foods made from yellow peas, which are designed with health and functionality in mind. Researchers at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research stations in Morden and Brandon are researching pulse and soybean diseases.
Contact
For more information about Manitoba's pea sector or to get this information in an alternate format, email us at: mbproteinadvantage@gov.mb.ca.