New-crop South Australian lentils arrive at the Plains Grain site at Mallala north of Adelaide. Photo: Plains Grain

AUSTRALIA exported 65,259 tonnes of chickpeas and 61,796t of lentils in October, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The chickpea figure is down 8pc from the September total of 68,252t, while the lentil figure is down 7pc from 66,176t shipped in September.

Pakistan on 42,409t was the biggest chickpea destination by far, taking 68pc, of the total, with the United Arab Emirates on 9497t the next biggest and Nepal on 3847t in third place.

Trade sources said rain delays to Queensland’s chickpea harvest meant October shipments were old-crop rather than new-crop, which can sometimes make its way to port for what is officially the opening month of the Australian shipping year.

On lentils, India on 33,662t followed by Sri Lanka on 11,020t and Nepal on 5190t were the three biggest-volume destinations.

Australia’s lentil harvest is also running late due to an unusually mild and wet spring in South Australia and Victoria, with new-crop lentils from SA kicking off Australia’s 2022-23 shipment program.

Table 1: Australian chickpea exports for August, September and October 2022. Source: ABS

Table 2: Australian lentil exports for August, September and October 2022. Source: ABS