Growers’ pulsating fortunes

Competition from cheap African producers has also put a brake on the market.

Lentil growers are also awaiting the outcome of a sodden Canadian crop as they keep an eye on what this could mean for Australian prices.

Peter Semmler, Agrisemm Global Brokerage believed there were still reasonable carry-over levels of chickpeas here in Australia and also in India.

In terms of local production this year, Graintrend’s Sanjiv Dubey estimated the national desi chickpea crop would be well down on last year.

“A figure of about 350,000 tonnes is probably near the mark.”

He said the dry in the heart of the chickpea belt in northern NSW was having a big impact, but added other areas were also doing it tough.

“I had thought Central Queensland was looking good, but in the past week I’ve had reports frosts have damaged crops in that area.”

Australian Milling Group (AMG) chief executive Peter Wilson said the company was buying new crop desi chickpeas at $410 to $420 on farm .

He said the Indian market was “very defensive”, with demand tempered by the impact from last season’s large crop and “heavy shipments” into major cities such as Bombay.

“India has enormous carry-over chickpea stocks sitting in their local storage facilities,” Mr Wilson said.

Chief executive of marketing

and storage company Silo Bag Grain Colin Kilby said chickpea crops in southern and central NSW were holding up well.

“The harvests won’t be record breakers, but normal rainfall through to September should produce an average crop (of about one-and-a-half tonnes a hectare).”

However, he said due to the dry conditions in the north, especially near Walgett, pulse crops were “virtually non-existent”.

It was a brighter story for lentils, however wet conditions in Canada were hampering production.

“Half of the lentil belt there looks good, but the other half is wet, it is just a matter of whether the good half will produce enough to counter what is lost to the wet,” Mr Semmler said.

He did not believe there was much carry-over on the subcontinent in terms of lentil stocks.

Australian Grain Exports pulse trader Will Alexander, Adelaide, said the logistical logjam in Canada meant Australia was the only major supplier of lentils for prompt shipment at present.

However, he said new crop values were being offered at significant discounts to old crops and this meant the high old-crop prices may be eroded by the time new crop harvests began.

Mr Dubey also said the changing geopolitical make-up in the Middle East meant previously secure supplier of pulses such as Turkey were now less reliable.

In terms of the Australian lentil crop, key production regions in Victoria and South Australia currently were in good condition.

Mr Semmler said human consumption markets for faba and broad beans continued to change the crop’s fit within Australian cropping systems.

“Previously they were priced more at the stock feed end of things, but with human consumption markets opening up, they became very attractive for growers,” he said.

However, similar to lentils, Mr Alexander said the current high faba bean prices may not last.

“European bean crops are looking good and are offered at much cheaper levels to Australian product.

“This is not supportive to the high prices in Australia. Also we can see a good crop coming, particularly in South Australia, so once harvest hits in SA and Victoria, its questionable if these high prices can be maintained.”

Middle Eastern demand continues to be by far the largest supporter of faba and broad bean prices, however there is also interest from Japan.

A DECISION to plant an increased area to chickpeas this season to hedge against the predicted dry winter is proving to have been a good decision for Justin Ramsay, “Telleraga”, Moree.

Mr Ramsay has planted 3000 hectares of chickpeas on the Australian Food and Fibre- (AFF) owned property as well as some wheat and barley.

Chickpeas generally use less moisture than other crops, such as wheat or barley, so this has been a useful rotation in what has turned out to be a particularly dry season.

“This year we’ve probably planted a bit more chickpeas than what we usually do because they don’t use much moisture until August,” he said.

“Hopefully we might get a break later in winter.”

This year, Mr Ramsay has opted not to sell any of his crops until he sees whether India receives a dry monsoon season.

“We’re pretty much well and truly driven by what’s happening in the sub continent,” he said.

“If they don’t get a good crop they’ll have to look elsewhere and we’re probably one of the main customers this way.”

Mr Ramsay was hopeful Australian prices would kick away if India received a dry monsoon and would then consider forward selling.

The majority of Mr Ramsay’s chickpeas are HatTrick, which he chose for its good disease package.

Mr Ramsay said there’s been so sign of any ascochyta blight.