Lentils
Red and green lentils, whole or split, in the size classes world markets buy. Lentils trade as two commercially distinct streams. Red lentils are grown for dehulling and splitting: the buyer is paying for a clean split with minimal broken and powder, because the product is going into dal, soups and ready meals where cooking time and colour matter more than seed size. Green lentils are usually sold whole with the seed coat intact, and here size class drives the price — the large-seeded types command a premium in markets that use them as a plate presence rather than a purée.
At a glance
- Product
- Lentils
- Grades
- Red lentils — whole · Red lentils — split (football) +3 more
- Typical applications
- Dal, soups and canned pulse products · Dry packaged retail and food service packs · Ready meals and frozen prepared foods
- Packaging
- 25 kg and 50 kg polypropylene woven bags · 1,000 kg / 1,250 kg bulk bags (jumbo / tote) · Bulk in lined shipping containers
- • Certificate of Analysis is provided against the confirmed shipment, grade and batch.
- • Manufacturer TDS and SDS are subject to grade and supplier confirmation and are available on request.
- • Grades, packaging and origin above are indicative sourcing options and are confirmed at quotation.
Available grades from container-direct sourcing
Red lentils — whole
Seed coat on, destined for dehulling or direct cooking.
Red lentils — split (football)
Dehulled and split; sold on split integrity and low powder.
Green lentils — large
Large-seeded class used where whole-seed appearance matters.
Green lentils — small / medium
Standard sizes for canning, soups and blended packs.
Specialty types
French green and beluga-type lentils are available on request against confirmed demand.
Typical applications
- Dal, soups and canned pulse products
- Dry packaged retail and food service packs
- Ready meals and frozen prepared foods
- Pulse milling into flour and protein fractions
- Institutional and food-aid tenders
Why Canadian buyers choose us
- Enquiries quoted against your specification — class, grade and presentation, not a fixed stock list
- Specification, origin, availability and certification confirmed in writing at quotation
- Supplier documentation (COA, SDS, technical data) provided for the grade actually offered
- One point of contact from enquiry through documents, packing and shipment
- Quantities reviewed per enquiry, from bagged lots to full container and vessel programmes
Typical industries served
Material identity
Lentils — identifiers and the names buyers use
Also searched as
Industry terminology
Identifiers are published for material identification. The exact specification of any offered grade is confirmed against supplier documentation at quotation.
Buyer intent coverage
Lentils — what it is, where it is used, how it is chosen
Lentils are traded as several commercially distinct products under one commodity name: large and small green whole lentils, red whole and red split, and specialist types with their own end markets. Canada is one of the world's principal producing and exporting origins, so Canadian buyers sit at both ends of this trade — sourcing imported types for ethnic and specialty demand while domestic material moves outbound in bulk. Cooking behaviour and splitting yield are the properties processors actually care about, and they vary with type, crop year and storage age far more than the single word lentils suggests.
Primary uses
- Staple protein carbohydrate in soup, dal and ready-meal formulation
- Retail-pack staple across ethnic and mainstream grocery channels
- Feedstock for pulse flour and protein processing
Applications
- Soup, dal and ready-meal manufacturing
- Retail and foodservice repacking
- Pulse flour milling and protein processing
- Export container programmes out of the Prairie base
Advantages
- Multiple distinct types serve canning, milling, retail and foodservice demand from one crop family
- Well-developed export infrastructure in the major producing origins, including Canada, supports reliable bulk movement
- Whole and split forms allow a processor to buy the form that matches its own capability
Limitations to consider
- Type naming is inconsistent across markets, so an enquiry that says only lentils returns incomparable offers
- Cooking time lengthens as pulses age in storage, which affects canning and prepared-food processing
- Splitting and dehulling yield varies with crop year and conditioning, and directly affects processor economics
- Purity, admixture, foreign matter, defect percentages, moisture, size or count grade, colour value and every other numeric axis are properties of one shipment from one facility. They are read from the supplier specification and the certificate of analysis for the exact lot offered, and are confirmed against a shipment sample rather than quoted here from memory.
How to choose the right grade
- Name the specific type and form — whole or split, and the size class — before requesting offers
- State the cooking or processing behaviour your line depends on, since ageing changes it
- Confirm crop-year position, as carry-over material performs differently in a canning or dehulling process
- A pre-shipment sample approved by your own quality team is the only honest way to qualify a lot of an agricultural commodity. Colour, aroma, cooking behaviour and processing yield vary between crops, facilities and even between lots from the same facility, so approval works against a retained sample rather than against a description.
- Origin and crop year are the two variables that move this market most, and both belong to the specific lot being offered rather than to a web page. Buyers search by origin because origin changes appearance, behaviour and price, but the origin, harvest period and crop year of any material quoted are confirmed in the offer and in the shipping documents, never assumed from a category page.
- Exact specification is confirmed against supplier documentation at quotation.
Typical grades
- Sizing and grading descriptions used in the origin market for this pulse, confirmed per offer
- Whole versus split versus decorticated offers, which are specified and priced differently
- Cleaning descriptions — machine cleaned, sortex, double sortex — as the supplier declares them
- Certified lots (organic, Halal, Kosher, non-GMO) where the supplying facility holds the certification for that lot
- Organic, Halal, Kosher, non-GMO, gluten-free and food-safety scheme certifications belong to a producing facility and to a specific lot, and they lapse, change scope and vary by shipment. State the certifications your customer or regulator requires at the enquiry stage so they are verified against current certificates for the offered material rather than assumed.
- Availability, price and quality follow the crop calendar of the producing origin, and the position of an offer in that calendar matters as much as the specification. New-crop and carry-over material behave differently in storage and in process, so the crop year is confirmed per shipment rather than treated as a constant.
Comparable materials — how Lentils sits against alternatives
- Whole versus split lentils depending on the plant's process
- A different lentil type or size matched against the same application
- Dry peas where the formulation tolerates a different pulse
- Buyers looking for an alternative or second-source supplier should state the incumbent origin, the specification currently accepted and the property that must be matched. Two lots that share a commodity name are not commercially equivalent: origin, processing and crop year all shift performance, so a trial shipment or approved sample precedes a changeover.
Comparable-material reference. Grade selection is confirmed at RFQ against your process.
Procurement coverage
How to specify, order and receive Lentils
Written for procurement, quality and technical buyers in Canada and the United States. No numeric price, MOQ, stock or lead-time value is published — those are confirmed per shipment in the quotation and against the confirmed batch.
How buyers specify at RFQ
- Whole, split, decorticated or polished form, and the sizing description the trade uses
- Purity, foreign material, splits and defect tolerances as declared for the lot
- Colour and appearance expectations, which drive acceptance in retail and repack channels
- Moisture and infestation control condition as declared and documented per shipment
- Cooking behaviour where the buyer's product depends on it, confirmed against a shipment sample
- Origin, crop year and processing facility as declared by the supplier
- The exact commodity, form and processing state your plant needs — whole, split, ground, hulled, milled or kernel
- The specification axes that decide acceptance in your process, and the tolerances your programme applies to them
- The origin or origins you can accept, and any origin your customer excludes
- The certifications and food-safety documentation required before the material can be used
- The pack format and delivery point your site can physically receive
- Exact specification is confirmed against supplier documentation at quotation.
Packaging options (industry-standard)
- Woven polypropylene, jute or multiwall paper bags in the formats the supplier packs
- Bulk bags (FIBC / tote) where the receiving plant can handle them
- Retail and catering pack formats where the supplier operates a packing line
- Container stuffing arrangement — palletised or floor-loaded — agreed per shipment
- Packaging options and available pack sizes are confirmed with each quotation.
Storage & handling
- Store sealed, dry, off the floor and away from strong-smelling materials; agricultural commodities pick up odour readily
- Control temperature and humidity in line with what the supplier states for the commodity and pack
- Rotate by receipt date and record the lot number used against each production batch
- Maintain a pest-management programme and inspect incoming containers before unloading
- Stored food commodities age and are vulnerable to moisture, odour pickup and infestation. Storage conditions, rotation discipline and pest-management controls at your own warehouse determine whether a good lot stays good, and treatment history at origin is confirmed in the documentation rather than assumed.
- Long ocean transit and Canadian winter conditions both affect agricultural material: moisture migration, condensation in containers, freezing and temperature swings during inland delivery all change the condition of a lot between loading and receipt. Container preparation, liners and desiccant use are agreed with the supplier before shipment rather than debated afterwards.
Documentation available
- Supplier specification sheet for the exact lot offered, stating the axes the supplier declares
- Certificate of analysis (COA) for the shipped lot, covering the parameters your programme requires
- Certificate of origin and shipping documents for the specific consignment
- Phytosanitary, fumigation or treatment documentation where the destination or the buyer requires it
- Certification documents (organic, Halal, Kosher, non-GMO) where the lot is offered as certified
- Food-safety scheme certification for the producing or packing facility where your programme requires it
- Documentation is confirmed per batch at quotation; availability depends on the grade and supplier offered.
- Ask for the documentation pack against the exact lot at the enquiry stage rather than after the vessel sails. Documentation availability differs by origin, facility and destination requirement, and in traded food commodities the paperwork is part of the goods: a lot without the documents your programme requires cannot be used, whatever its physical quality.
- Microbiological limits, mycotoxin and pesticide-residue requirements, heavy-metal limits and allergen controls are set by your own food-safety programme and by the Canadian regulator, not by a supplier's habit. Agree the testing regime, the sampling plan and who pays for what before the shipment moves, because a rejection at destination is far more expensive than a test at origin.
RFQ checklist for lentils
Include these fields to receive an accurate Canada-landed quotation
- The exact commodity, form and specification required, and the incumbent origin where there is one
- Volume per shipment and expected annual usage, so the offer is built on real consumption
- Crop year position you need, and whether carry-over material is acceptable
- Certification and documentation set required before the material can be used
- Pack format your plant or warehouse can physically receive and handle
- Delivery point in Canada and the incoterm the comparison should be made on
- Sampling and approval process, including who approves the pre-shipment sample
- Whether your process is canning, milling, dehulling or retail packing, since each accepts different lots
- Landed cost in Canada is decided by pack format, container utilisation, port of discharge, drayage and receiving arrangements as much as by unit price. Offers are compared delivered to your plant or warehouse, in the same incoterm and the same pack, or the comparison is not a comparison.
Technical & procurement detail
What this product is and what decides quality+
Lentils trade as two commercially distinct streams. Red lentils are grown for dehulling and splitting: the buyer is paying for a clean split with minimal broken and powder, because the product is going into dal, soups and ready meals where cooking time and colour matter more than seed size. Green lentils are usually sold whole with the seed coat intact, and here size class drives the price — the large-seeded types command a premium in markets that use them as a plate presence rather than a purée. The three quality questions that decide acceptance are the same everywhere: foreign material and defect tolerance, moisture at loading, and colour uniformity. Moisture is the one that ruins shipments — pulses loaded near the upper limit will sweat in a container crossing the tropics and arrive with mould or caking, which is why a stated maximum moisture and a container lining specification belong in the enquiry, not in the claim afterwards. Because the same field crop can be presented as whole, split or dehulled product, tell us the finished form you need. Splitting yield and process losses are what separate two quotations that look identical on the surface.
Types, classes and grades+
Red lentils — whole: Seed coat on, destined for dehulling or direct cooking. Red lentils — split (football): Dehulled and split; sold on split integrity and low powder. Green lentils — large: Large-seeded class used where whole-seed appearance matters. Green lentils — small / medium: Standard sizes for canning, soups and blended packs. Specialty types: French green and beluga-type lentils are available on request against confirmed demand.
Specification basis+
Purity — Typically 99–99.9 % depending on class and buyer standard. Moisture — Normally specified at 13–14 % maximum at loading. Defects — Agreed per contract — broken, split, discoloured and foreign material each have a stated ceiling. Sizing — Stated by class and screen size for green lentils; split integrity for red. Treatment — Cleaned, gravity separated and colour sorted; polished on request. Values vary by grade, crop year and supplier and are confirmed against supplier documentation at quotation.
Supply and origin context+
Canada is one of the world's leading lentil exporting origins, with production concentrated in Saskatchewan and Alberta. The crop is harvested from late summer and moves through cleaning, colour-sorting and bagging plants across the prairies before rail movement to port. Practical consequence for buyers: availability and price are seasonal and are strongly influenced by harvest quality in a given year. Early-season enquiries are quoted against a new crop position; later in the year the conversation moves to carry-over stock, which can differ in colour even when it meets the same grade. Origin, availability, grade and certification are confirmed at quotation for the lot actually offered — origin is a supply attribute, never an assumed property of the product.
Commercial and shipping notes+
Container-load or vessel-parcel shipments, quoted on FOB, CFR or CIF terms. · Container lining and desiccant are specified in the contract, not assumed — state the destination and transit time so the right protection is priced in. · Phytosanitary requirements differ by destination; confirm your import permit conditions before contracting.
Documentation+
Commonly relevant documentation: Certificate of Analysis · Phytosanitary Certificate · Certificate of Origin · Weight and quality certificate by an independent surveyor (on request) · Fumigation certificate where the destination requires it. Availability is confirmed per order and per destination.
Frequently asked questions
What should the first enquiry for lentils include?+
State the quantity, the destination, the presentation you need and the parameters you buy on — purity, moisture, defects, sizing, treatment. With those in the enquiry we can return a quotation instead of a list of questions.
Which types or grades of lentils are available?+
Red lentils — whole, Red lentils — split (football), Green lentils — large, Green lentils — small / medium, Specialty types. All of these are grades of the same product rather than separate products; the grade is fixed at quotation.
What packaging options are available?+
25 kg and 50 kg polypropylene woven bags · 1,000 kg / 1,250 kg bulk bags (jumbo / tote) · Bulk in lined shipping containers · Retail-size bagging available on confirmed volume. Packaging is confirmed at quotation, because it affects both protection in transit and freight cost.
Where does the material originate?+
Origin, availability, grade and certification are confirmed at quotation for the lot actually offered — origin is a supply attribute, never an assumed property of the product.
Technical knowledge for Lentils — Red & Green Classes | Allzone
Engineering and purchasing guidance written for this material — understand it, apply it, compare options, specify a grade, and fix production problems.
Foundation Articles
Application Guides
Comparison Articles
Buying Guides
Related products
Materials commonly quoted alongside Lentils by the same plants.
Need a quote on Lentils?
Request pricing, TDS/SDS and available documentation. We usually acknowledge enquiries within one business day; samples are subject to supplier availability and product classification.