Chickpea market seen firm for now

(Resource News International) — The chickpea market is likely to stay firm in
the near term, according to Parrish and Heimbecker’s special crops marketing rep in Lethbridge.

Jim Rempel said prices are currently near the top end of the
range but noted that high prices will not necessarily
translate into more area being seeded with chickpeas.

“Depends on the values for everything, for example, the
competing crops, so it’s tough to say. Prices are pretty
strong, but chickpeas are pretty expensive to plant, too.”

Brian Clancey, senior market analyst for STAT
Communications, agreed. Firm prices are only one of the
factors which affect the amount of chickpea seeded acreage, he
said.

“There is always acreage competition going on so you
won’t get the same type of response as you might have gotten
in the past relative to current prices. And this is one of the
things that is feeding the market going forward.”

Clancey said corn, for example, may compete with
chickpea seeded acreage and pointed out that corn prices are
currently doing well. It’s easier to grow and is not as risky
a crop as chickpeas.

Firm prices currently seen in
Canada for desi and kabuli chickpeas are the result of a
number of supply and demand factors, Clancey said.

“If you go back a year or so ago, desis were in over
supply relative to demand and prices were fairly weak, quite
dismal. Then there was a production response in Canada and we
reduced our acreage,” he said.

“Then, of course, Australia had its
drought and its crop was dramatically reduced. As that was
happening, Indian demand was building because they were having
problems, and were also starting to encourage imports because
they were experiencing food inflation… So imports there have
risen dramatically relative to supply, so Canadian chickpea
production has increased this year, but it has not increased
too much so far.”

“India should have a good crop this year but they are
still harvesting. I think there is a lot of optimism, however,
that they will be able to absorb the extra production,”
Clancey said.

Clancey doesn’t expect kabuli prices to change
significantly in the coming crop year but said prices for desi
chickpeas are less predictable. Everything depends on the size
of winter season crops in Pakistan and India. If crops are
huge, demand and prices could drop. If there is a problem with
crops, he said, the opposite is true.

The largest export market for Canadian desi chickpeas is
India, whereas kabuli chickpeas are often exported to a number
of countries. Kabulis account for only a
fraction of the international chickpea market, Clancey added.

An Oct. 12 Statistics Canada report estimated production for the 2007-08 crop year at
215,000 tonnes, while exports were placed at 140,000
tonnes.

According to PrairieAg, prices for desis currently range
from 23.8 to 25 cents per pound. Prices for 10-mm kabulis
range from 35 to 40 cents per pound. Nine-mm’s range from
32 to 35; eight-mm’s range from 28 to 29; and seven-mm’s from 20 to 25.