Record Output to Drive Surge in Australia’s Lentil Exports

11-Dec-2025 07:37 PM

Adelaide. Lentil production in Australia during the 2025-26 season is projected to increase by more than 50 percent compared to the 2024-25 season, reaching a new record level.

Meanwhile, production in Canada is also expected to reach a high of 3.36 million tonnes, a robust increase of 38 percent.

As a result, the global supply and availability of lentils are expected to remain ample, which could keep prices under pressure. Production has also increased in Russia and Kazakhstan.

Discussions about increasing the import duty on lentils in India from the current 10 percent to 30 percent were quite prevalent last month, but the government has not yet given any indication to this effect.

Trade analysts say that if the import duty is increased, it will not significantly affect lentil imports, but domestic market prices may become somewhat higher and stronger.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) report, a total of 165,000 tonnes of lentils were exported from Australia during the August-October 2025 quarter.

Shipments in August were only 17,000 tonnes, which jumped to over 75,000 tonnes in September before falling to below 13,000 tonnes in October.

During October 2025, Australia exported 22,529 tonnes of lentils to Pakistan, 22,500 tonnes to Bangladesh, and 17,105 tonnes to India. Shipments were also made to several other countries, including Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Egypt.

As far as the August-October quarter is concerned, India was the leading importer of Australian lentils during this period, purchasing 56,000 tonnes. 

During the same period, Australia shipped 39,632 tonnes to Bangladesh, 27,282 tonnes to Sri Lanka, 26,426 tonnes to Pakistan, 7,153 tonnes to Nepal, and 5,581 tonnes to Egypt.