Suspension of Indian tariffs boosts Australian chickpeas

Australian desi chickpea prices rose sharply after India suspended import tariffs, opening the door to a revival of a trade once worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Higher prices and increased demand from India will encourage farmers to grow more chickpeas in the coming months, industry body Grains Australia said.

India, the world’s largest chickpea consumer, on May 4 suspended tariffs until March 31 next year due to a poor local harvest. Australia, the largest exporter of chickpeas, is in the best position to benefit.

“Australian exporters will immediately position their products for Indian ports,” said Peter Wilson, chairman of Grain Australia’s Pulse Council.

With Australia’s planting season just beginning, “this will guarantee a little more will be planted,” Wilson said.

Prices for Australian desi chickpeas rose from around A$810 ($535) a tonne in February to over A$900 a tonne last week in anticipation of the tariff decision.

Following the announcement, prices were as high as A$1,150 a tonne, a trader said.

Australia has exported an average of 600,000 tonnes of chickpeas a year over the past five years, worth around $325 million, its trade data shows. Wilson said about 90% of them are desi, which are smaller and usually darker in color than the white Kabuli variety used to make hummus.

The Agriculture Ministry forecast in March that farmers would harvest 732,000 tonnes of chickpeas in the 2024/25 season, up from 531,000 tonnes in 2023/24 and the highest since 2021/22.

India imposed 33% tariff on desi chickpeas in 2017 to support local farmers and later increased it to 66%.

Around 60% of Australia’s chickpea exports went to India – in fact, 90% of India’s chickpea imports – before tariffs brought trade to a near standstill.

Wilson said competition for Australian chickpeas would now increase and it was possible India could capture 60% of the market again in the year of tariff suspension.

The other main markets for Australian chickpeas are Pakistan and Bangladesh.