AUSTRALIA exported 73,698 tonnes of chickpeas and 36,9466t of lentils in November, up 82 per cent and 3pc respectively from October tonnages, according to the latest export data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Pakistan was the biggest buyer of Australian chickpeas in November 2020. Photo: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

November chickpea exports reflect availability of volume new-crop tonnage from the Queensland harvest, with the container-only destination, Pakistan, the major market on 28,575t, followed by bulk customer Bangladesh on 22,005t.

On lentils, Sri Lanka on 10,500t and Bangladesh on 8761t were the leading destinations for November exports.

While chickpeas are a major export from Queensland ports, pulses generally are taking a back seat to wheat, barley and canola in southern ports as new-crop exports hit full pace across southern Australia.

Lentils appear to be making up part cargoes, combined with either wheat to South Asia or faba beans to Egypt.

Table 1: Australian chickpea exports for September, October and November 2020. Source: ABS

Table 2: Australian lentil exports for September, October and November 2020. Source: ABS