Hummus supplies to dip as weather and Ukraine war cause chickpea shortage
theguardian.comGrowers are warning of a global chickpea shortage, endangering supplies of hummus just as barbecue season gets into gear, in a development which could have serious consequences for countries that rely on the pulses as an essential source of protein.
Supplies of chickpeas could drop as much as 20% this year, according to the Global Pulse Confederation, as difficult weather conditions and the war in Ukraine hit production.
Sanctions after the invasion of Ukraine have interrupted shipments from Russia, which is usually a top chickpea exporter accounting for about a quarter of global trade, according to Navneet Singh Chhabra, the director of Shree Sheela International, a global chickpea trader and brokerage firm.
Ukraine, meanwhile, could not seed its total chickpea crop due to the war, removing 50,000 tonnes that is usually bound for Europe.
“Russia is exporting about 200,000 to 250,000 tonnes, minimum, a year. When the war started in February, the supply was destroyed, totally,” Jeff Van Pevenage, the chief executive of Columbia Grain International, a grain and pulse merchandiser and supplier headquartered in Portland, Oregon, told Reuters.
“When the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, the demand boomed. We saw strong demand from China, then it was calls from customers in Pakistan and Bangladesh.”
Demand is outstripping supplies, as south Asian and Mediterranean buyers try to scoop up dwindling stocks after Turkey issued an export ban, while yields from Mexico to Australia fell as a result of weather woes, including flooding.
The price of a range of hummus products in the main British supermarkets has risen by up to 100% since January, according to data supplied to the Guardian by the research group Assosia. However, the picture is
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