New chickpea has European export potential

Published Wednesday, 26 September, 2001 at 12:00 AM

Primary Industries and Rural Communities
The Honourable Henry Palaszczuk

Queensland Government researchers believe an experimental line of fast growing high yielding chickpea has the potential to win European export markets, Primary Industries Minister Henry Palaszczuk said in Biloela today.

Mr Palaszczuk, who was inspecting the Department of Primary Industries trial at Biloela, said the new ultra large-seeded chickpea would further diversify production in Central Queensland.

This pulse seed also had value added processing potential on the domestic market to replace current imports.

Queensland's chickpea production has more than trebled in the past three years from about 14,000 tonnes in 1992-93 to more than 90,000 tonnes in 2000-2001.

There are two distinct chickpea types - the large-seeded Kabuli chickpea and the small seeded Desi chickpeas.

Mr Palaszczuk said the new line was a Kabuli selection favoured by Europeans and attracted up to three times the price of Desi types. The ultra-large-seeded Kabuli chickpeas are eaten as a whole seed in salads, ground paste or as a fried patty.

"Queensland's chickpea export market is dominated by Desi chickpea varieties which account for 98 percent of the State's production. Desi varietal lines are exported to the Indian subcontinent where it is regarded as a staple grain that is generally processed into flour and used in dishes much the same way as Australians use plain flour.

"Chickpea cropping has emerged as an excellent winter crop alternative to wheat in both Central Queensland and western Darling Downs.

"When the new Kabuli experimental line is fully evaluated and released for commercial production, it has the potential to open up a valuable niche market for Queensland pulse crop growers. Current commercial Kabuli varieties are not suited to the Central Queensland environment but the new lines sourced from Spain and Mexico and tested at Biloela for the past two years do not appear to have these limitations," said Mr Palaszczuk. "The short maturity of the new selections mean they are ready for harvest much earlier than traditional varieties. They have a better chance of meeting high quality seed specifications by escaping the spoiling effects of the first Spring rains and the shorter season reduces their exposure to heliothis attack with a reduced dependency on chemical insecticides," he said.

Australian Kabuli chickpea production valued at $1 million a year was based in the Ord River Irrigation Area of Western Australia. Export market demand is several times greater than current production while an increasing domestic consumption is reliant on processed Kabuli imported products. The high quality of the new Kabuli chickpea has the potential to replace these imports.

Central Queensland chickpea growers deserve strong commendation for their 100 percent voluntary adoption of a disease free chickpea seed scheme which has ensured the central region has remained free of the devastating ascochyta blight for the past three years. While the rest of Australia's chickpea production areas are affected by ascochyta which can have a severe impact on yield potential, Callide-Dawson and Central Highlands growers have adhered to the disease-free seed scheme endorsed by Pulse Australia and overseen by DPI extension officers. This has amounted to an annual saving of $0.5M per annum in treatment costs.

While this year's Central Queensland chickpea crop area has been reduced to about 6000 hectares following an extremely dry winter season, the drought tolerant crops had performed above expectations. Growers harvesting premium grade chickpeas can expect returns of around $570 per tonne.

Media Contact: Kirby Anderson 0418 197 350