AUSTRALIA exported 21,420 tonnes of chickpeas and 25,886t of lentils in August, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Retail pulses in Pakistan. Photo: Food and Agriculture Organization

Lentil exports in August were less than half the July total, primarily because of reduced sales to India, which lowered its tariff rate to 11 per cent over June-July from the default 33pc, while chickpea exports tripled in August from July.

Australia’s biggest lentil customers in August were Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, while Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal were the major chickpea customers.

Following the start of the chickpea harvest in Queensland last month, new-crop Australian chickpea exports will start to appear in October figures, and will increase when bulk shipments get going in November or December.

According to GrainCorp, the major bulk handler in eastern Australia, up to 10,000t of new-crop chickpeas had been received at its Mt McLaren site alone in the current harvest.

Mt McLaren is a major accumulator of chickpeas for bulk export out of Mackay.

Table 1: Australian chickpea exports for June, July and August 2020. Source: ABS

Table 2: Australian lentil exports for June, July and August 2020. Source: ABS

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