A lentil crop growing in the Mallee last week. Photo: Matt Witney, Dodgshun Medlin

AUSTRALIA exported 58,188 tonnes of chickpeas and 34,363t of lentils in June, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The figures take totals for chickpeas shipped in the nine months to June to 1.56 million tonnes (Mt), and lentils to 1.32Mt.

This compares with data published in August 2025 that showed 2Mt of chickpeas and 893,000t of lentils were exported in the corresponding 2024-25 period.

Looking at June 2026 shipments, Pakistan on 27,620t was the biggest market for chickpeas, followed by India on 13,558t and Bangladesh close behind on 12,834t.

On lentils shipped in June, India on 23,067t was the biggest market, with Sri Lanka on 6044t the second-biggest market and Nepal on 4480t the third biggest.

Lachstock Consulting’s vessel line-up report indicates an increase in bulk chickpea exports in July and August ahead of new crop out of Central Queensland become available for shipment from next month.

While a few hatches out of Victoria are expected to appear in ABS’ July and August export data,  bulk lentil exports are expected to die off ahead of new-crop becoming available from December.

Australia’s new-crop lentils are pricing against stiff competition from a big Canadian crop, so Australia’s early 2026-27 program may get off to a slow start.

Table 1: Australian chickpea exports from October 2025 to June 2026. Source: ABS

Table 2: Australian lentil exports from October 2025 to June 2026. Source: ABS