A lentil bunker builds in November on South Australia’s Upper Eyre Peninsula. Photo: Plains Grain
AUSTRALIA’s 2024-25 chickpea crop has come in at a record of 2.267 million tonnes (Mt), according to the figures released today in ABARES quarterly Australian Crop Report.
The estimate is up 380,000t from 1.887Mt forecast in the previous crop report released in early December, and reflects a significant expansion in area in response to favourable prices, and record national yield given optimal planting and growing conditions in New South Wales and Queensland.
Qld chickpea production is estimated to have increased by 239pc year on year to 950,000t in 2024-25, the second-highest level on record, with average state yield 74pc above the 10-year average to 2023-24.
Qld’s 420,000ha chickpea area was up 91pc from 2024-25, supported by favourable seasonal conditions at planting and elevated chickpea prices.
In NSW, ABARES has called the chickpea crop 1.28Mt from 580,000ha.
Lentil production is estimated to have fallen 26pc from 1.567Mt harvested in 2023-24 to 1.157Mt, reflecting dry conditions across southern states and their impact on 2024-25’s record planted area.
However, ABARES has added 41,000t to its early December estimate for 2024-25 lentils.
In South Australia, lentil production is estimated to be down 27pc year on year but has remained 36pc above the 10-year average at 555,000t, reflecting a 21pc increase in the area planted.
In Victoria, lentil production is estimated to have fallen by 31pc to 535,000t; however, production remains 58pc above the 10-year average to 2023-24, reflecting a 13pc increase in area planted.
ABARES has added 1000t to its estimate for faba beans, now at 695,000t, and bumped up its field pea estimate by 6000t to 228,000t.
The lupin estimate now sits at 778,000t, up 15,000t from the December figure.
Upward revisions now put ABARES forecast for Australia’s five major pulse crops in total at 5.125Mt, up from 4.682Mt seen in December.
Chickpeas are the only crop to receive a revision in area from the previous quarter’s estimates, with 50,000ha added to the December number.
Chickpea area in 2024-25 at 1.039M hectares sites just below the two record years for planted area in 2016-17 at 1.069Mha and 2017-18 at 1.075Mha, with 2016-17 producing the previous record crop of 2.004Mt prior to drought hitting the following year, when 998,000t was harvested.
| Dec 2024-25 ha | Dec 2024-25 tns | Mar 2024-25 ha | Mar 2024-25 tns | |
| Chickpeas | 989,000 | 1,887,000 | 1,039,000 | 2,267,000 |
| Faba beans | 399,000 | 694,000 | 399,000 | 695,000 |
| Field peas | 193,000 | 222,000 | 193,000 | 228,000 |
| Lentils | 947,000 | 1,116,000 | 947,000 | 1,157,000 |
| Lupins | 515,000 | 763,000 | 515,000 | 778,000 |
| Total | 3,043,000 | 4,682,000 | 3,093,000 | 5,125,000 |
Source: ABARES
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