Pulses in 2026/27: record Australian lentils, a halved chickpea crop and India's import rules

Pulses move on a few large flows. Canada and Australia grow most of the lentils and peas that are traded, and India is the largest buyer, with Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey, the Middle East and China behind it. The 2026/27 season is pulling these flows in different directions: Australia has a record lentil crop but far fewer chickpeas, Canada has harvested less, and India keeps adjusting its import rules to protect its own farmers and its consumers. This note sets out what that means for buyers of lentils, chickpeas, peas and beans. Figures are as reported up to 29 September 2026.

Australia: record lentils, half the chickpeas

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) published its September crop report this month. It forecasts:

• Lentils up 5% to a second consecutive record of 2.3 million tonnes, more than double the ten-year average, because growers planted more and conditions in South Australia and Victoria have been excellent.
• Chickpeas down 52% to just over 1 million tonnes, with less area planted and lower expected yields in northern New South Wales and Queensland after a dry season. The previous crop was close to a record at about 2.2 million tonnes.

Australian lentils are mostly red lentils and nearly all are exported, mainly to India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The southern harvest usually starts in late October, so new-crop red lentils are normally offered from November.

Canada: smaller, but not short

Statistics Canada's model-based estimates of 16 September put 2026 production at:

• Dry peas: 3.3 million tonnes, down 17.1% on 2025.
• Lentils: 2.5 million tonnes, down 26.7%.
• Chickpeas: 0.4 million tonnes, down 16.9%.
• Dry beans: 0.35 million tonnes, down 19.1%.

Lentils and peas are both still above their five-year averages (2.3 and 3.0 million tonnes). Canada grows most of the world's large green lentils, and those are the lentils where supply is tighter this year. Canada's final figures come in December, when the harvest is counted.

India's import rules decide the flow

India's policy on each pulse sets how much of the world's surplus it takes and at what price.

• Lentils (masoor). India may import about 1.6 million tonnes in 2026/27, close to the record of 1.68 million tonnes in 2023/24, according to analysts quoted in September. The basic import duty is 10%, and the government adjusts it to domestic supply and prices.
• Yellow peas. India charged a total duty of 30% on yellow peas from 1 November 2025, ending two years of duty-free imports. In 2026 it changed course: a Directorate General of Foreign Trade notification of 3 March 2026 kept yellow pea imports free to 31 March 2027, without a minimum import price or limits on the port of entry, and the government described the extension as duty-free to keep pulse prices down.
• Desi chickpeas (chana). A 10% import duty has applied since 1 April 2025. With a strong Indian harvest and a much smaller Australian crop, India is expected to import far fewer chickpeas than in the last two seasons.

These rules change often and sometimes at short notice. What counts is the rule in force on the date of the bill of lading, so we check it for each contract before it is signed.

Chickpeas: two different markets

Desi and kabuli chickpeas behave differently this season. Desi supply has tightened with Australia's smaller crop, but India's own harvest means its import demand is lower. For kabuli chickpeas, Argentina has had a record season of about 240,000 to 260,000 tonnes, most of it already sold, and large calibres (above 9 mm) are the hardest to find. Buyers of large kabuli sizes will find less choice than buyers of smaller calibres.

China reopens to Canadian peas

In 2025 China put a 100% tariff on Canadian peas, which shut Canadian peas out of one of their largest markets. After an agreement between the two governments, China suspended that tariff from 1 March to the end of 2026. With India also open to yellow peas, Canadian peas have two large outlets again, which supports their price. The suspension has an end date, so contracts shipping into 2027 should say who carries the risk if the tariff returns.

What buyers should plan for

• Confirm the duty for your shipment date. Ask for the duty and import conditions that will apply on the bill of lading date, not the date of the offer, and write into the contract what happens if they change before shipment.
• Red lentils are plentiful; green lentils less so. A record Australian crop gives red lentil buyers good availability from November. Buyers of large green lentils should cover earlier.
• Keep more than one chickpea origin open. With Australia's crop halved, qualify alternative origins, and agree calibre by millimetre sieve size rather than by name.
• Agree the quality in the contract. Moisture, foreign material, damaged and discoloured grains, splits, and whether the product is whole, split or dehulled all affect price and customs classification.
• Inspect at loading. Have each lot sampled and checked against the agreed specification, with a phytosanitary certificate that matches the destination's rules. Our note on the documents that keep agricultural cargo moving lists what travels with a shipment.

See our pages for lentils, chickpeas, peas and beans, or send us your specification with volume and destination.