Pigeon Peas
Red / Brown Pigeon Peas
The principal East African type by volume, running from light brown to deep red-brown, and the standard raw material for dal milling.
The red-brown type is what most people mean when they refer to East African pigeon peas. It accounts for the large majority of the crop in Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique, and it is the material that supplies the Indian dal milling trade. Seed colour within the type ranges from a light brown through to a deep red-brown, depending on variety and on growing zone, and buyers with an established preference will state where in that range they want to sit.
Because this is the volume type, it is also where the market sets the reference price. Movements in Indian demand transmit into the East African buying regions within the season, and the pace at which the crop is bought up in the producing districts reflects that. For a buyer, the practical implication is that timing matters: the widest choice of colour, size and crop-year-fresh material exists while the harvest is moving, and the choice narrows as the season progresses.
Quality assessment follows the milling logic set out on the whole pigeon peas page. Insect damage, immature grain and moisture are the parameters that determine whether a lot performs, and colour uniformity determines what it is worth. A lot that mixes light brown and deep red-brown grain in significant proportions will be discounted even where every numerical tolerance is met, because the finished dal is visibly uneven.
Colour range within the type
Light brown material is generally associated with certain growing zones and varieties, and deep red-brown with others. Neither is inherently better; they suit different buyers. What matters commercially is consistency within the lot and consistency between shipments under the same contract, which is a function of how the crop is segregated at buying and storage rather than of anything the cleaning line can fix.
Available specifications
- Machine cleaned: pre-cleaned, aspirated, screened, destoned and density separated. The standard milling grade.
- Colour sorted: machine cleaned plus an optical sorting pass, for buyers requiring a higher visual grade.
- Colour segregation to an approved sample where the buyer works to a specific shade within the type.
Specification
Typical specification
Pigeon Peas — Machine Cleaned
Whole pigeon peas (tur / toor / arhar), East African origin
- Product
- Whole pigeon peas, Cajanus cajan
- Origin
- Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda
- Crop year
- Stated on contract
- Moisture
- 12% max
- Purity
- 98% min
- Foreign matter
- 1% max
- Admixture
- 2% max
- Damaged and discoloured
- 2% max
- Broken and split
- 2% max
- Insect damaged
- 2% max
- Immature and shrivelled
- 1% max
- Colour
- As per approved sample
- GMO status
- Not genetically modified
Notes on specific parameters
- Crop year — Contract on a specific crop year; it materially affects colour, cooking behaviour and insect load.
- Moisture — Lower moisture is specified for longer transits and humid discharge ports.
- Foreign matter — Stone, soil, straw, pod and extraneous seed.
- Admixture — Other colours and off-variety grain.
- Colour — Red-brown, light brown or white depending on the type contracted.
- GMO status — There are no commercially cultivated genetically modified varieties of this crop.
- Tighter parameters are available on a colour-sorted basis — see the Sortex specification.
- Final specification is agreed per contract and, where required, against an approved sample.
Pigeon Peas — Colour Sorted
Machine cleaned and optically sorted
- Product
- Whole pigeon peas, colour sorted
- Origin
- Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique
- Crop year
- Stated on contract
- Moisture
- 12% max
- Purity
- 99% min
- Foreign matter
- 0.5% max
- Admixture
- 1% max
- Damaged and discoloured
- 1% max
- Broken and split
- 1% max
- Insect damaged
- 1% max
- Immature and shrivelled
- 0.5% max
- GMO status
- Not genetically modified
Notes on specific parameters
- Crop year — Contract on a specific crop year; it materially affects colour, cooking behaviour and insect load.
- GMO status — There are no commercially cultivated genetically modified varieties of this crop.
- Colour sorting raises the visual grade and reduces defect percentages; it increases the reject fraction and therefore the price.
- Sorting intensity is set against the contract, not applied at a single fixed setting.
Specifications shown are indicative contract parameters used across the trade. They are not laboratory results and are not a guarantee attaching to any particular lot. The specification that governs a shipment is the one written into its contract, agreed against the buyer’s requirement and, where appearance matters, against an approved sample.
Frequently asked questions
Is red gram the same as red-brown pigeon peas?
"Red gram" is an older trade name for pigeon peas generally, and it is normally used for the red-brown type. Because the term is applied loosely, the colour should be confirmed against a sample rather than assumed from the name.
Can a specific shade within the red-brown range be supplied?
Where a buyer works to a particular shade, the practical approach is to agree an approved sample and to segregate at buying and storage so that shipments match it. It is an operational commitment rather than a machine setting, so it needs to be agreed before the crop is bought.
Request pigeon peas availability
Send your target origin, specification, quantity, packing, destination port and Incoterm, and we will come back with a position against the current crop.
- Origin
- Specification
- Crop year
- Quantity
- Packing
- Destination port
- Incoterm