Export

India imports a chickpea donut in February

Liz Wells, April 9, 2018

AUSTRALIA’S chickpea exports in February at 50,832 tonnes were down 13 per cent from a downwardly revised 58,190t in January, according to the latest export figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Notable in the February data is the absence of India, traditionally Australia’s biggest chickpea customer.

Its ratcheting up of tariffs, and the harvest of its own chickpea crop, have killed the market for now.

Bolstering export sales have been the increasingly important secondary markets of Bangladesh and Pakistan, but traders report that Bangladeshi demand has dwindled.

“They don’t like our quality this year, and they can buy from India,” Australian Grain Export pulse trader, Will Alexander, said.

Sales to Pakistan are ticking along, and the container market for chickpeas processed into chana dahl has continued to absorb some tonnage.

Trade sources said reports of the Indian Government banning chickpea imports were unsubstantiated, and would make no difference to the market in its current state of suspended animation.

Limited selling interest from growers has helped to support Australian values, with the market trading at around $550 per tonne, and closer to $600/t in places, to southern Queensland packers.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Table 1: Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing Australian chickpea export data for February 2018, revised January 2018 figures and December 2017 figures.

Destination Dec Jan Feb Total tonnes
Afghanistan 0 121 0 121
Bahrain 24 0 0 24
Bangladesh 19935 19035 26304 65274
Bhutan 40 0 0 40
Canada 401 527 750 1678
Egypt 834 377 1172 2383
Germany 0 47 24 71
India 20999 675 0 21674
Iran 3113 1989 1211 6313
Israel 25 0 529 554
Italy 297 169 146 612
Japan 34 24 24 82
Jordan 0 939 325 1264
Lebanon 0 0 138 138
Malaysia 121 98 245 464
Mauritius 120 170 122 412
Nepal 3859 1701 360 5920
Netherlands 0 48 48 96
New Zealand 0 7 46 53
Oman 0 68 0 68
Pakistan 4154 24792 13066 42012
Papua New Guinea 1 1 6 8
Portugal 0 0 46 46
Qatar 120 0 0 120
Saudi Arabia 878 126 950 1954
Singapore 24 25 24 73
South Africa 74 73 48 195
South Korea 0 0 42 42
Spain 0 0 25 25
Sri Lanka 173 48 126 347
Thailand 1 26 7 34
Turkey 0 1000 0 1000
UAE 9964 4015 2159 16138
UK 1417 1811 1309 4537
US 799 278 1511 2588
Yemen 0 0 69 69
TOTAL 67407 58190 50832 176429

 

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