Australia Achieves Record Chickpea Exports in the 2024/25 Season — 2.1 Million Tons
In the 2024/25 season, Australia set a new historical record for chickpea exports, shipping 2.1 million tons of this crop to international markets. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, this is the highest figure recorded in history and a significant increase compared to previous years.
This is reported by AgroReview
Chickpea Exports: New Leaders and Main Markets
The achieved export volume of chickpeas exceeded the previous record level set in the 2016/17 season, when 2 million tons were exported, and more than doubled last year’s result of 789,000 tons. India remained the main importer of Australian chickpeas, purchasing 1.41 million tons, with most of the shipments made in the first six months of the season — before the end of the duty-free import period in March. Following India in volume are Pakistan (323,000 tons) and Bangladesh (242,000 tons).
“Australia exported 2.1 million tons of chickpeas in the 2024/25 season, marking a new historical high, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This figure surpassed the previous record of 2 million tons in the 2016/17 season and more than doubled the export volume of the previous year (789,000 tons). Lentil shipments during the same period totaled 1.05 million tons.”
Lentil Export Dynamics and the Role of Weather Factors
In contrast to chickpeas, lentil exports in the 2024/25 season decreased from a record 1.75 million tons to 1.05 million tons. Experts attribute the reduction in volumes to drought, which significantly impacted the harvest in South Australia — the region that is the main producer of lentils in the country. Among the main buyers of this crop, India (375,000 tons) and Bangladesh (372,000 tons) lead, with Sri Lanka in third place, purchasing 151,000 tons.
Analysts note that the record chickpea export is indicative of a recovery in demand from South Asian countries. Regarding the decline in lentil exports, specialists consider this trend to be temporary and predict a recovery in volumes, provided that weather conditions are favorable in the next season.