Canada: Chickpea outlook bright

Canada’s chickpea crop is off to a good start. “I’m new to the area, but what I’m being told by those who are veterans here, this is a good year, and it could lead to a pretty good outcome from a yield perspective on everything,” said Jake Hansen, general manager of Mid-West Grain. Statistics Canada estimates growers planted 400,000 acres of the crop. He thinks it will be closer to 350,000 acres, which would still be the fourth biggest crop in the last two decades. Agriculture Canada is forecasting 225,000 tonnes of production. Hansen thinks that is feasible, given the good start. “Everyone got quite a bit of rain,” he said. “Yield could be a great one this year.” Canada’s main competitors in the kabuli chickpea market are Turkey, the United States and Argentina. Hansen thinks growers in Turkey opted to plant green lentils in lieu of chickpeas, but a recent article published by the Global Pulse Confederation (GPC) suggests acreage will be similar to last year. U.S. farmers planted ...