Australia is expected to see a robust chickpea and lentil harvest

08-Oct-2025 04:51 PM

Canberra. The chickpea and lentil harvest in Australia is in good shape, with production of both pulses estimated to exceed 1.8 million tonnes each, which could significantly increase exportable stocks.

The expected robust harvest has put pressure on pulse prices in recent weeks. Good monsoon rains in South Asia are also having a psychological impact on the Australian market.

Australia's largest export of chickpea and lentils is to South Asian countries, including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.

These countries hold significant stocks of previously imported pulses. Supply and availability remain comfortable in the domestic sector, and domestic pulse production is also expected to improve.

The pace of pulse imports in India has remained slow since May 2025, suggesting that there is a significant balance between demand and supply.

Meanwhile, there are signs of a significant increase in the supply and availability of pulses in the global market, and major exporting countries are having to adopt aggressive strategies to increase their product shipments.

Russia and Kazakhstan are expected to jointly produce approximately 1 million tons of lentils, while Canada's pea production estimate has been increased by 500,000 tons to 3.6 million tons.

In Australia, lentil production is projected to reach an all-time high and chickpea production the third-highest level during the current year.

This will not provide much benefit to Australian farmers. The peak import season is from November to January, while May and July are the off-season.

Australia is also focused on Ramadan, when demand for chickpeas and lentils increases sharply in Muslim-majority countries. However, that time is still far away.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen what changes occur in India's pulse import policy after March 31, 2026. If necessary steps are taken to curb imports, the global market price of pulses may fall further.