Saskatchewan's total seeded area devoted to chickpea production has ranged from 32,374 ha (80,000 acres) in 2009 to over 149,248 ha (368,6000 acres) in 2018.
World chickpea production and exports
World chickpea harvested area has ranged from 13.09M ha to 14.6M from 2011 to 2017. Chickpea production ranged from 11.7Mt to 14.8Mt from 2011 to 2017.
Saskatchewan exports to the world rose from 1.05 thousand tonnes in 2016-17 to 1.13 thousand tonnes in 2017-18.
The top export destinations for 20187-18 were the United States, Pakistan, Turkey, India and the United Arab Emirates.
Market Opportunities
India and Pakistan are responsible for over half of world imports and have imported large volumes of mainly desi chickpea if their domestic crop is small. Due to their close proximity, Myanmar (Burma) and Australia have a marketing advantage over Canada in the Indian subcontinent.
Significant opportunities exist for Canada in the American, European and Mediterranean chickpea markets.
Marketing
For list of special crop marketing companies, please see the Special Crop Marketing Company Listing.
Economics of Production
The Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food publication Crop Planning Guide – Specialty Crops contains information on projected costs of production and expected returns on desi and kabuli chickpea in Saskatchewan.