Australia: Rain catches harvest tail

Rain in later-maturing regions of South Australia and Victoria has caught the tail end of Australia’s faba bean, lentil, field pea and lupin harvest. However, the majority of crops were in the bin ahead of the rain, with quality and yields generally good. Supply-side pressure from pulses sold straight off the header has dwindled as growers wait to get a better quality picture after recent rain and storms which have caused some downgrading and yield losses. The upside of the recent rain is that it has bolstered planting and establishment prospects for mungbeans, Australia’s main summer pulse. The chickpea harvest finished last month in the key growing regions of Queensland and northern New South Wales. ABARES last week revised its estimate for the crop to 528,000 tonnes, down 5000t from its September estimate. Shipping stems indicate a maximum three handymax cargoes will depart Qld ports by mid-January to arrive in South Asia ahead of the start of Ramadan on March 10. In addition ...