Australia: Chickpea price plummets as Indian demand underwhelms

Prices for chickpeas delivered to Queensland sites have fallen by up to $250 per tonne in response to harvest pressure, and India’s continued absence from the market. This is despite it removing its tariff on chickpeas, which was expected to prompt a fast and furious shipping program bookended by the start of the Qld harvest and the closure of the tariff-free period on 31 March 2025. Trade sources say Pakistan has emerged as the destination for the first two new-crop cargoes shipped this month from Qld, and that prices have now fallen to a level expected to attract buying interest from India and Bangladesh, as well as Pakistan. “I haven’t heard of any bulk vessels going into India, but Pakistan is very vocal; they’ve got seven vessels going from September to January,” one trader said. Up-country depots in Qld are currently bidding on average around $710-$735/t for chickpeas, down from more than $1000/t early last month. Trade sources say the price drop has occurred in response to ...