Australian chickpea exports surge in November, lentils also up

Australia exported 442,603 tonnes of chickpeas and 49,041t of lentils in November, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The chickpea figure is more than quadruple the 100,996t shipped in October, and compares with just 32,698t shipped in November 2023, to reflect the small crop grown in the dry-affected previous season.

November 2024 shipments also reflect India’s appetite for new-crop Australian chickpeas in their tariff-free period scheduled to end on March 31.

India on 349,904t accounted for 80 percent of Australia’s November 2024 chickpea exports, with Pakistan on 50,283t and Bangladesh on 21,243t respectively the second and third-biggest markets.

Lentil shipments were up 88pc from the October figure, reflecting new-crop availability and solid demand from Bangladesh in particular in the lead-up to Ramadan.

Bangladesh on 29,085t followed by Sri Lanka on 9981t and India on 8277t were the three biggest markets for lentils shipped in November 2024.

The total of 49,041t was well below the 119,009t shipped in November 2023, when a much kinder season for the major producing states of South Australia and Victoria allowed old-crop stocks to be released ahead of the big 2023-24 crop hitting the bins.

Table 1: Australian chickpea exports for September, October and November 2024. Source: ABS

Table 2: Australian lentil exports for September, October and November 2024. Source: ABS

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