Australian chickpea, lentil exports drop in April

AUSTRALIA exported 66,156 tonnes of chickpeas and 53,090t of lentils in April, according to the latest export data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Both figures are down substantially from the March figure, with chickpeas dropping 16 per cent from 79,207t, and lentils down 42pc from 53,090t.

Pakistan has continued its run as the volume buyer of chickpeas, and with 48,768t bought 74pc of Australia’s total April chickpea exports, with the United Arab Emirates with 6361t the second-biggest market.

On lentils, Bangladesh was once again the volume buyer, taking 29,721t, or 56pc of the April total.

Sri Lanka on 12,418t and Pakistan on 7448t were the second and third-biggest markets for April-shipped lentils.

Export volumes for chickpeas and lentils have trended down since February, but lentil exports may surge in coming months if India drops its tariff to bolster local supplies.

This occurred last year, when India twice reduced its tariff in the back end of Australia’s shipping year.

Table 1: Australian chickpea exports for February, March and April 2021. Source: ABS

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Tags: Australia, Pakistan, Бангладеш, chickpea, Australi, lentil export