Research Note: Breeding Priorities for the High-Value Pea Processing Sector

Industry Overview: A recent market report provided by Pulse Canada states that globally, over 4,500 new food products containing pea and pea protein ingredients were launched in 2023 alone (Der 2024). While overall, the plant-based food sector growth has slowed relative to projections, the potential of the market has continued to attract new entrants into the Canadian pulse processing space, resulting in what processors have described as a highly competitive and price-sensitive market. China is accused of dumping pea protein into the North American market at below-market prices, adding to the competitive pressure on domestic processors. Despite these challenges, the food industry continued to drive growth in the demand for pea protein globally in 2023, with the pet food sector dominating demand at 83% while packaged food made up the balance at 17% (Der 2024). In the current environment, the sector has focused on the product and process innovation necessary to capture and create market share in the food ingredient industry.