Pulse values come back but opportunities for lentils, beans

Australia is on track for another big year of pulse production in spite of declines in chickpea plantings in northern NSW and Queensland, with a huge lentil plant in Victoria and SA a key driver.

Rebekah Starick, agribusiness consultant with Pinion Advisory, Freeling, South Australia, said there was a massive amount of lentils in SA, the largest lentil producing state in the country.

"We have seen a lot of lentils go in on the back of the good opening rains in places like the upper EP (Eyre Peninsula) and through the eastern Mallee around Pinnaroo, those lower rainfall zone areas where pulses are preferred over canola as the break crop," Ms Starick said.

"The advantages for growers are clear in terms of lower cost of production with less nitrogen required and the rotational benefits of having an N-fixing legume in have meant it is a big plant and it all looks fairly good at this stage," she said.

Daniel Keam, who farms at Wallup in the northern Wimmera in Victoria, said it was a similar story in his area.

"There are definitely a lot of pulses in and canola plantings are also up," Mr Keam said.

"Things are looking good in terms of yield potential, it is getting a bit wet which is not great for the lentils but we're still happy with how things are looking," he said.

However, on the pricing front there has been a hefty fall from prices in excess of $1000 a tonne earlier in the year, with values now around $650/t.

Will Alexander, Australian Grain Export pulse trader, said the re-emergence of Canada in the world market after a drought impacted 2021 was a key driver in bringing the price down.

"Obviously Canada is the world's largest lentil exporter and with them back with a much better crop it has improved global supplies," Mr Alexander said.

"India has been a willing buyer of Australian lentils to meet the shortfall with fewer Canadian lentils last year but is now actively sourcing Canadian product as well."

Ms Starick said the high prices on offer at planting had meant there were also larger plants in other lentil producing nations such as Turkey and Kazakhstan.

The good news for Australian growers, according to Mr Alexander, was that demand was likely to continue well into 2023.

"India look set to continue to buy big volumes, we're doing quite a bit in other parts of the subcontinent so there will be opportunities for exporters, it is just that the pricing is not likely to be at the levels we saw earlier in the year."

RELATED: Plant based protein pulse boost

RELATED: Australia in driver's seat on pulses

Mr Keam said pulse growers were accustomed to high levels of volatility in pricing and would be comfortable holding onto product until they were happy with the price.

"We know prices can skip around a bit and we've seen some good results in the past for those patient enough to hang onto supplies for a while until the market rises.

"Given there probably won't be the immediate need to generate cash flow from the pulses this harvest you'd expect there would be a few stored."

Mr Alexander said faba beans were another pulse crop likely to see a cut in price but strong demand.

"The major human consumption market, Egypt, is not buying, there are issues with foreign exchange and there is also more supply out of Europe, in particular the Baltic States, which are set for a good harvest.

"Prices are generally back in line with livestock feed values, but again, there has been really solid demand from livestock industries, particularly here in SA, so there will be no problems in selling the product if farmers want."

He said desi chickpeas were a tougher proposition.

"There is an awful lot of carry-over in chickpeas and sales are not proving easy.

"The early new crop from Central Queensland will probably find a home in Bangladesh where they prize the new peas on appearance but after that it will get a lot tougher, there is a much smaller crop here so hopefully the stocks slowly run down but it is going to be much harder than with crops like lentils and faba beans where there is strong demand."

Mr Alexander said he expected bulk export shipments of pulses to continue, in spite of slowly improving container availability.

"Pulse exporters will be like others in that they are watching a tight export supply chain carefully but I expect more pulses to move in bulk."

PUNTHARI farmer Matthew Starick substantially increased his lentil area this season, after a successful "dabble" last year.

Mr Starick, who farms with wife Sharon and daughters Rebekah, Leah and Hannah, crops 2000 hectares of wheat, barley and lentils, alongside a 220-sow piggery. Last year, they put in a 25ha Highland lentil trial, chasing a profitable pulse in their rotation.

"We had been growing field peas, but they were hit and miss in price and frost damage," he said.

"Even from the 25ha we put in, which yielded about 0.8t/ha, the gross margin was better than the peas."

Mr Starick said the Highland variety also stood up, making harvest easier, and the imi-tolerance provided greater flexibility.

"They also don't mind the hard finish, making them more suited to our dodgy rainfall," he said.

With 120 millimetres of growing season rainfall, the 220ha of lentils are flowering.

"Our highest rain event since May was 8mm a week ago, so they still need more rain to finish," he said.

"But we are happy with how they are tracking."

Mr Starick said potential price pressure this coming harvest had pushed them to consider forward selling some of their lentils this season.