Australian chickpea prices hit $1,000 a tonne as supply tightens ahead of Ramadan

Australian chickpea prices have jumped to $1,000 per tonne, the highest level since 2024. Delivered prices this month have risen from around $600 per tonne earlier in the year. Grains Australia Pulse Council chair Peter Wilson called the price a great result for growers and noted the surge is driven by global logistics volatility and El Niño‑related low rainfall in parts of India, which pushed Indian prices higher. Buyers from Pakistan, Bangladesh and the UAE are rushing to lock in supply before Ramadan, which begins in early February, creating urgency to load cargo at least a month in advance. The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences forecasts chickpea production to fall by 52 percent to just over 1 million tonnes in 2026‑27, after cuts to planted area and lower yields in northern New South Wales and Queensland; analysts say the forecast may be optimistic, meaning the crop could be smaller. Northwest Queensland grower Lucas Findley, who farms about 1,300 hectares in Julia Creek, said his harvest yielded roughly 1.2 tonnes per hectare. He had forward‑sold about 75 percent of his crop at lower prices but still has 25 percent to benefit from the current rally. Findley’s grain will leave via Townsville Port, which is preparing its second‑ever dry bulk shipment of chickpeas; more than 38,000 tonnes were shipped to India and Pakistan last October from north Queensland farms.## Context The price spike reflects a classic supply‑demand squeeze: lower Australian output, weather‑linked price hikes in India, and strong seasonal demand for pulses during Ramadan all combine to push global prices upward.