Australian Firms Desi Chickpeas

VANCOUVER - Oct 27/06 - SNS -- International chickpea markets finished the week on a strong note against steady demand from the Indian subcontinent for desi type chickpeas and fundamentally tight kabuli chickpea markets.

The week saw conflicting news from Canada and Australia on the size of this year's harvest. Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food says it believes chickpea output in the province will total 125,000 metric tons (MT) of all classes. This is up from Statistics Canada's 123,400 MT estimate at the beginning of the month.

At the same time, chickpea production in Australia was reduced from 271,900 MT in September to 238,850. In making the change, kabuli chickpea production estimates were slashed from 25,050 to 16,250 MT; while the forecast size of the desi chickpea harvest slumped from an estimated 246,850 MT in September to 22,600 MT in the latest estimate.

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