Africa plays a significant role in the world market of pulses

The African continent is one of the world’s major pulses and beans producers. Its importance is set to increase over the next decade.

The African continent is set to play a leading role in the global pulses market over the next decade, according to a forecast by the OECD and FAO. Annual consumption is set to exceed 12 kg per capita by 2034, up from around 11 kg today.

The expected growth is driven by rising consumption of these crops, which is set to continue and accelerate given the region’s population boom and significant nutritional needs. This includes chickpeas, cowpeas, beans, lentils and peas. The crops are already popular in all forms of consumption (whole, shelled or as flour) in the human diet, providing a cheap source of protein for people with modest incomes, mainly in Central, East and West Africa.

The authors of the report point out that beyond consumption, the continent will continue to influence global supply over the next decade. The region is expected to increase production by 900,000 tonnes per year by 2034, driven by higher yields and increased planted area.

This dynamic should strengthen Africa’s role as the second-largest market for global pulse production (25%) after Asia (42%). According to FAO, pulse supply in Africa has almost tripled since 2000, from 8.7 million tonnes to 23.7 million tonnes in 2023.

This is due to the fact that growing these crops has a positive effect on soil quality through biological nitrogen fixation, increases the content of organic matter in the soil, contributes to higher yields of cereal crops in crop rotation, and reduces the need for fertilizers.

Recall that West and East Africa are the main regions for growing pulses on the continent. According to FAO data for 2023, the main players are:

Nigeria (4.3 million tonnes),
Ethiopia (3.2 million tonnes),
Niger (2.78 million tonnes),
Tanzania (2 million tonnes) and
Kenya (1.3 million tonnes).

Tags: pulses, Ethiopia, lentil, Nigeria, Kenya, pea, Niger, chickpea