ABARES pegs Australia 2017-18 chana crop at 1.2 million tonne, down 36% YoY.

Australia chana production is seen declining 36% on year to 1.19 million tonne in 2017-18 due to a fall in average yield. Although area under chana cultivation is estimated to increase by 4.5% to 1.1 million ha in 2017-18, production is expected to fall as rainfall was below average in the most cropping regions in June and was highly variable in July and August. Most of Australia’s chana is exported to India. In the year ended June, Australia sold a record 1.1 million tonne chana to India. The country’s chana exports to India are likely to fall to 0.8-1.0 million tonne in 2017-18 (Jul-Jun), as Australia’s chana crop is expected to be much smaller on year.