The last of the 2020-21 lentils leaves Australian Grain Exports Dublin, SA site in containers in late October ahead of the first new-crop arrivals. Photo: AGE

AUSTRALIA exported 54,056 tonnes of chickpeas and 53,141t of lentils in October, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The chickpea figure is down 24 per cent from the 71,392t shipped in September, while the lentil figure is up 59pc on the month.

Bangladesh was the biggest market by far for chickpeas shipped in October, taking 28,225t, or more than half the total,

Pakistan on 8278t and the United Arab Emirates on 5455t the next-biggest customers, with solid demand from Turkey and Nepal also, supported the figure.

On lentils, Egypt on 18,269t was the biggest buyer, followed by Sri Lanka on 9365t and the UAE on 8944t.

Egypt is believed to have bought some combination cargoes containing lentils and faba beans, while India has bought less than the market was expecting when it dropped its tariff to 10pc from 30pc earlier in the year.

Table 1: Australian chickpea exports for August, September and October 2021. Source: ABS

Table 2: Australian lentil exports for August, September and October 2021. Source: ABS