Chickpeas growers were handed a welcoming boost after a research conducted by Charles Sturt University PhD student Soumi Paul Mukhopadhyay pinpointed five Australian Desi chickpea genotypes that show great puffing potential, which may help farmers recover from recent calamities regarding the plummeting prices and more than modest demand for this commodity.
The good news featured on Farm Weekly comes in the wake of a disastrous price crushing collapse of the market in Bangladesh and a surprisingly fruitful crop in India. These two countries happen to be the two largest importers of Australian chickpeas.
According to Mrs. Paul Mukhopadhyay, puffed chickpeas, a common snack food in India, could potentially offer a lucrative business opportunity for Australian growers.
“If an Australian chickpea puffs to the same extent or better than the Indian cultivars it could be marketed in a way that would achieve price premiums and increase demand, thereby improving the value and export potential of Australian chickpeas in general,” she said.
Pentag Nidera pulse trader Rob Brealey claims that high prices in recent years have heavily influenced the supply of peas. He points out the lack of Pakistani import in the last six months, as well as the abundant crop in India as facts to back his claims. Declining value of Indian rupee has also affected Indian consumer’s spending power which further aggravated the situation.
This year’s Australian crop is down from about 800,000 tons last year to an estimate of 400,000t to 500,000t this year which will “virtually all have to be devoted to export” according Mr. Brealey.
All these factors combined contributed to the rapid decline of prices amounting from $500 in August to $350 this week. As a result, a large chunk of last year’s crop lies in storage, with farmers also reluctant to sell this year’s crop at current prices.
Puffed chickpeas provide a fresh new lifeline for chickpeas farmers, who are hopeful that it will present them with new market avenues and opportunities.
“If there is anything that will increase the market growers will be eager to know more about it”, says Lena Price, the Igrain accounts manager for the region. Alliance Grain Traders grain buyer David Marshman is also hopeful that puffed chickpeas will have a positive impact on all sides affected.
