As winter starts in the southern hemisphere, Australia projects a dream winter pulses harvest especially for two key legumes.

Driving production will be lentils at 1.6 million tonnes yield estimate, even as chickpeas could reach 1.1 million tonnes.

The gains in the two winter pulses stem from significant yearly acreage increases, at 5% for lentils and 80% for chickpeas. 

Chickpeas

With an impressive 80% acreage expansion year-on-year, chickpeas will lead area increment among winter pulses in the 2024-25 season. This will also be a 24% increase over the decade-long acreage average. 

New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland with cover over 90% of the nationwide chickpea area of 730,000 hectares this season. 

While Queensland will plant 380,000 hectares at a 73% yearly increase, NSW will plant 310,000 hectares, a 107% yearly increase.

At 1.1 million tonnes, chickpea production in the 2024-25 season will be 46% above the 10-year median of this winter pulse.

Lentils

For lentils, the production area will hit 850,000 hectares nationally, as farmers scramble to cash in on attractive prices.

Australia’s lentil export price had peaked at $859 per tonne in February 2023 but fell to $595 a tonne in July. It then reached $1,110 per tonne in December 2023 and this could have a repeat this season hence the acreage increase.

Leading in area for the 2024-25 season is Victoria with 400,000 hectares out of 460,000 hectares nationwide, a 5% yearly growth. 

At 765,000 tonnes, Victoria’s output this season will be slightly above that of its 2023-24 lentil crop.

In total, Australia could harvest 51.3 million tonnes of winter crops including cereals and winter pulses, 9% above the decade average. Indeed, as the following statistics show, Australia’s pulse production and consumption highlights are also growing in their own ways.

Australia Winter Pulses Statistics

Australia produces pulses, which include winter pulses, totaling over 2.2 million tonnes each year. The leading production states are Victoria and New South Wales (NSW). According to the NSW government, NSW’s pulse production had a growth value potential of A$359.3 million ($234.91 million) in the 2020-21 season. The total pulse output in 2020-21 season reached 685,000 tonnes, with chickpeas at a high of 374,000 tonnes.  Victoria, on the other hand, has an annual pulses’ production of 250,000 tonnes. 

What is the per capita consumption of pulses in Australia?

Australia has a low pulses consumption rate, at 908 kg in 2019 in comparison with the global leader, Niger, at 42,144 kg. Pulses in Australia feature in both human food and livestock feed, with faba beans, lupins and field peas featuring mostly in livestock feed.

Is Australia a top exporter of pulses? 

Though Australia did not make the top 10 pulse-exporting nations in 2022, it nevertheless topped global chickpea exports, at $338 million.

How much do lentils inject into the Australian agricultural economy? 

Lentils emerged a top 10 agricultural export in Australia in February 2024 at A$1.5 billion ($996.9 million), equal to milk and cream revenue.