Markets

Australia ships 14,500t chickpeas, 128,043t lentils in July

Liz Wells September 9, 2024

Lentils being harvested in November 2023 at Scaddan, WA. Photo: Pulse Association of the South East, WA

AUSTRALIA exported 14,500 tonnes of chickpeas and 128,043t of lentils in July, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The chickpea figure is down 63 percent from the 38,816t exported in June, and shows the usual seasonal rundown in the lead-up to new-crop exports expected to start in October.

On lentils, the month-on-month drop was only 5pc, with stocks at much higher levels than chickpeas which allowed several bulk cargoes to load.

The three largest markets for July-shipped chickpeas were India on 9288t, Bangladesh on 1582t and Nepal on 905t.

India on 52,631t was also the biggest market for lentils shipped in July, followed by Bangladesh on 32,058t and Egypt on 14,402t.

Egypt is normally a containerised market for Australian lentils, but the ongoing threat of Houthi attacks on container vessels in the Red Sea has pushed them into bulk cargoes shipped in combination with faba beans.

According to Lachstock Consulting’s latest vessel line-up report issued September 3, only one 20,000t bulk parcel of lentils is booked to sail from Australian ports this month to follow 32,400t already on the water.

The slowdown reflects competition from Canada’s new crop into South Asian markets.

On chickpeas, stocks are very thin following sustained strength in prices brought about by India’s removal in May of its tariff, and export volumes in August and September are expected to be as low or lower than the July figure ahead of new crop.

 

CHICKPEAS May Jun Jly Tonnes
Bangladesh 6148 3178 1582 10908
Belgium 22 0 44 66
Canada 673 526 854 2054
Egypt 0 150 0 150
India 21641 25156 9288 56085
Indonesia 23 10 23 56
Italy 48 50 0 98
Japan 22 0 47 69
Jordan 73 0 0 73
Malaysia 157 0 96 253
Mauritius 97 24 75 196
Nepal 3082 3717 905 7704
New Zealand 63 136 84 283
Pakistan 4066 1534 127 5727
Singapore 48 24 1 73
South Africa 24 0 0 24
South Korea 46 24 0 70
Sri Lanka 0 48 0 48
Thailand 0 1 45 46
UAE 6586 3086 370 10042
UK 902 1011 709 2621
US 79 66 203 348
Vietnam 24 24 48 96
Yemen 25 50 0 75
TOTAL 43849 38816 14500 97164

Table 1: Australian May, June and July 2024 chickpea exports. Source: ABS

LENTILS May Jun Jly Tonnes
Bahrain 501 500 1757 2758
Bangladesh 39467 44920 32058 116446
Canada 0 4 0 4
Egypt 8768 11346 14402 34517
Fiji 24 0 0 24
India 59698 52519 52631 164848
Indonesia 0 2 0 2
Italy 50 75 0 125
Japan 0 0 21 21
Lebanon 25 72 0 97
Mauritius 25 50 120 195
Nepal 2994 5409 7747 16150
New Zealand 21 62 15 98
Pakistan 3977 3742 5248 12968
South Africa 0 92 0 92
Sri Lanka 14233 14194 13998 42425
Taiwan 0 25 0 25
Thailand 0 0 24 24
UAE 502 1257 0 1759
US 0 0 21 21
TOTAL 130286 134268 128043 392597

Table 2: Australian May, June and July 2024 lentil exports. Source: ABS

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