Loading lentils bound for India at the Port Giles terminal on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula recently. Photo: Viterra

AUSTRALIA exported 68,288 tonnes of chickpeas and a record 264,762t of lentils in May, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The chickpea figure was more than triple April shipments of 17,858t, while lentils were up 74 percent.

Pakistan on 53,802t was the biggest market by far for chickpeas, followed by Nepal on 5618t and the United Arab Emirates on 4573t.

On lentils, India with 109,971t was the largest-volume market, followed by Turkiye on 51,166t and Nepal on 27,818t.

Australian lentils are now starting to face competition from Canada’s crop now getting close to harvest, and volume shipped from Australia is tipped to drop off from this month.

Likewise, chickpea shipments are expected to be modest ahead of new crop becoming available out of Central Queensland in October.

Table 1: Australian chickpea exports for March, April and May 2023. Source: ABS

Table 2: Australian lentil exports for March, April and May 2023. Source: ABS