A cargo of lentils bound for India prepares to leave Portland in April. Photo: Wimpak

AUSTRALIA exported 33,649 tonnes of chickpeas and 94,075t of lentils in April, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The chickpea figure is up 10 per cent from the March total, while lentil exports were down 4pc on the previous month.

On chickpeas, the Bangladesh bulk market was once again the biggest market by far, and was the destination for almost half the April shipments.

Nepal on 4933t was the next-biggest market, followed by the United Arab Emirates on 2418t, and only 12t behind was Canada on 2406t in fourth place.

While Canada regularly buys several hundred of Australian chickpeas each month, and occasionally buys more than 1000t, this appears to be the biggest shipment to Canada.

Like Australian barley shipments now going to Canada, bigger chickpea exports are thought to be taking place as the result of Canada’s drought-reduced production last year.

Bangladesh on 48,143t was also the biggest market for Australian lentil shipments in April, followed by India on 28,610t, and Sri Lanka on 10,763t.

Table 1: Australian chickpea exports for February, March and April 2022. Source: ABS

Table 2: Australian lentil exports for February, March and April 2022. Source: ABS