Australia exports 24,136t chickpeas, 116,768t lentils in April

Australia exported 24,136 tonnes of chickpeas and 116,768t of lentils in April, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Bangladesh was the top destination for both pulses in April, taking 9176t of chickpeas and 40,053t of lentils.

The United Arab Emirates on 6670t and Nepal on 4114t were the second and third-largest destinations for chickpeas shipped in April.

India on 25,897t and UAE on 17,719t were the second and third-largest destinations for lentils shipped in April.

Volume for both commodities fell sharply over April, chickpeas by 53 percent from the March total of 50,932t and lentils by 34pc from 177,662t exported in March.

India removed its tariffs on Australian chickpeas early last month, and bulk cargoes arrived in India ahead of the widely anticipated announcement.

Shipping stems indicate one combination cargo of Australian chickpeas and lentils will discharge in India next month to clear out bulk current-crop stocks in Queensland.

However, the container market to India is cleaning out smaller parcels in Qld and New South Wales in what looks like being a bumper year for chickpea production in both states, as outlined last week by ABARES in its quarterly Australian Crop Report.

Table 1: Australian chickpea exports for February, March and April 2024. Source: ABS

Table 2: Australian lentil exports for February, March and April 2024. Source: ABS

Tags: Bangladesh, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, export, lentils, India, chickpeas, pulses