Markets

Australia exports 116,797t chickpeas, 99,287t lentils in Feb

Liz Wells, April 14, 2022

Cargill loads a cargo of lentils bound for the Mediterranean at its Port Adelaide facility in February for ADM. Photo: ADM Australia

AUSTRALIA exported 116,797 tonnes of chickpeas and 99,287t of lentils in February, according to the latest export data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The chickpea figure is up 64 per cent from the 71,337t shipped in January, while the lentil figure is down 26pc from the 135,079t shipped in January.

The drop in lentil shipments reflects the dominance of wheat, barley and canola in February at Victorian and South Australian ports, while the elevated chickpea number demonstrates the ability of bulk shipments to slot into Central Queensland shipping schedules.

On chiekpeas, Bangladesh was the biggest market by far with 81,389t, followed by Pakistan on 23,180t and Nepal on 4496t.

On 38,691t, Bangladesh was also the biggest market for lentils, and arrivals of both chickpeas and lentils were the last bulk deliveries which could be shipped with confidence to arrive and clear customs prior to the Ramadan festival which started April 2.

Turkey was the surprise bulk entrant for the lentil market, and on 19,500t was the second-biggest for Australian in February.

The United Arab Emirates on 14,915t and Egypt on 12,500t were also bulk lentil customers in February.

Turkey, which is a major importer and re-exporter of lentils, has bought bulk Australian product before, but this February shipment is believed to be the first from the current crop.

CHICKPEAS Dec Jan Feb Tonnes
Bangladesh 62137 61487 81389 205013
Canada 577 720 1023 2320
Egypt 577 0 0 577
Fiji 24 0 0 24
Greece 0 0 96 96
Italy 192 200 48 440
Japan 20 0 24 44
Jordan 184 46 0 230
Lebanon  0 0 23 23
Malaysia 334 116 143 593
Mauritius 240 168 121 529
Nepal 4079 1947 4496 10522
Netherlands 23 24 0 47
New Zealand 56 30 75 161
Pakistan 1698 2418 23180 27296
Romania 24 24 24 72
Singapore 120 96 79 295
South Africa 191 48 222 461
South Korea 0 168 0 168
Spain  0 0 48 48
Sri Lanka 273 129 154 556
Taiwan  0 0 72 72
Thailand 6 34 23 63
Turkey 878 498 755 2131
UAE 125 1368 3188 4681
UK 1324 1409 1330 4063
US 272 407 261 940
Vietnam 72 0 0 72
Yemen 94 0 23 117
TOTAL 73520 71337 116797 261654

Table 1: Australian chickpea exports for December 2021 and January and February 2022. Source: ABS

LENTILS Dec Jan Feb Tonnes
Bangladesh 1013 83687 38691 123391
Egypt 1203 8400 12500 22103
India 36045 11630 385 48060
Indonesia 1 2 0 3
Japan 0 24 0 24
Jordan 96 0 0 96
Lebanon 0 75 0 75
Malaysia 152 196 0 348
Mauritius 240 0 72 312
Nepal 1122 2501 1880 5503
New Zealand 26 0 8 34
Pakistan 373 752 6202 7327
South Africa 515 144 0 659
South Korea 24 48 23 95
Sri Lanka 8850 6775 5088 20713
Taiwan 0 0 23 23
Turkey 1130 125 19500 20755
UAE 301 20720 14915 35936
TOTAL 51091 135079 99287 285457

Table 2: Australian lentil exports for December 2021 and January and February 2022. Source: ABS

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