Australia: Chickpeas join surprise rally

Prices for faba beans, lentils, mungbeans and even chickpeas have risen in the past month, thanks to improved supply chains and healthy demand. The month has also seen an increased ability of counterparties in destinations including Pakistan and Sri Lanka to honour contracts, which has built confidence in forward business. In its quarterly Australian Crop Report released March 7, ABARES has lifted its production estimates for faba beans by 26pc, field peas 11pc, lentils 34pc and lupins by 45pc from the previous figure released in December. The chickpea estimate has been revised down 9pc. The Australian Pulse Conference is taking place this week in Toowoomba, so keep an eye out for stories and photographs from the Grain Central team attending the event. All prices quoted are in Australian dollars unless otherwise stated. Table 1: ABARES hectare and tonnage estimates for the 2021-22 old crop, and the December 2022 and the revised March 2023 current-crop estimates for 2022-23 from ...