Australia: Chickpea business hots up, lentils dive

Business to fill a heady new-crop shipping program out of Queensland is lifting volume and values in the chickpea market. Lentil prices have fallen in response to more attractive offers to South Asia out of Canada as Australian stocks run down, and new-crop selling from Australian growers has dried up on lower prices and yield concerns in some areas. On the production front, most Victorian lentil and faba bean crops are in reasonable shape ahead of the start of spring on the weekend. In New South Wales, faba bean and chickpea crops generally have above-average yield potential, as does the Queensland chickpea crop. Lentil crops in South Australia remain the primary area of concern, with the late start and a lack of subsoil moisture exposing some districts to yield loss if September and October bring frost, high daytime temperatures or below-average rainfall. All prices are in Australian dollars unless stated otherwise. New-crop chickpeas delivered Oct-Nov Brisbane port are trading ...