According to Dow Jones News, Russia exported 1.13 million tons of peas to China in the 2023/2024 season, achieving a market share of 49.1%. Canada's share dropped to 44.6%. after the country dominated China's pea imports in previous years, reaching around 95 percent.
Russia increases market share
The latest pea export data showed how Russia is rapidly gaining a larger share of China's agricultural import market, especially amid rising trade tensions between China and Western countries.
In China, peas are used to produce pea protein, which, like other plant proteins, is used as an ingredient of many dietary products that are becoming increasingly popular. The country exports most of its pea protein around the world.
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US imposes tariffs on pea protein
According to a report by the US Department of Commerce, the United States found China guilty of selling pea protein on the US market at artificially low prices. As a result, at the end of June, anti-dumping duties on pea protein imported from China were announced, ranging from 127 percent. up to 626 percent
Russian pea production is booming and has reached new records every year since 2021, but the country does not have its own plants producing pea protein. China, a major producer of pea protein, has granted Russia access to its market in October 2022.
Russia is diversifying its exports
In the face of Western sanctions imposed over the conflict in Ukraine, Russia is trying to diversify its trade and redirect trade flows to countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. According to Russia's agriculture regulator, the country has exported more than 2 million tonnes of grain to China since the beginning of 2024, with barley exports increasing fivefold to 371,500 tonnes. Moreover, according to the Russian Pork Producers Association, Russia aims to achieve a 10 percent share in Chinese pork imports within three to four years.
