Chickpea stands out in B&P crops

Chickpea is unusual among Myanmar’s beans and pulses crops because a fair portion of the crop is consumed locally, where most of the rest are grown for export purposes.

Domestically called ka-la-be, chickpea is used in a variety of dishes and is processed in different ways depending on the intended usage.


The most popular use is split chickpea, which is mixed with meat or vegetables and cooked into curry. Powdered chickpea is used to flavour and thicken salads, curries and noodle dishes.

Chickpea for export is commonly called ka-la-be-phyu-loun–gyi, which roughly translates to big, white chickpea. Trade of this commodity is facilitated by companies in Yangon and Indian traders.

The amount of sown chickpea area in 2011-12 was estimated by the Department of Agriculture (formerly Myanmar Agriculture Service) at 810,00 acres, with an average yield of about 544 kilograms an acre. Total production of chickpea for the 2011-12 year was estimated at 441,000 tonnes. The crop is only sown in the cool months and mostly in Sagaing, Mandalay, and Magwe regions in the central dry zone.

Chickpea can only be sown in specific growing conditions. For instance, it can be sown in Ayeyarwady Region but yields will be reduced below viable levels. Specific soil conditions are also required: PH levels below 5.5 will result in plants that bear no fruit. Successful crops also need between 33-40 inches of rain a year, and the temperature at the time of planting must be within 23-33 Celsius.

Most chickpea is sown in October and November and harvested in December and January.

Chickpea exports reached a high of nearly 115,000 tonnes in 2007-08, while exports in 2010-11 hit a low of 8460 tonnes, Department of Agriculture data shows.

However, excluding these two years chickpea exports ranged from about 31,000-88,000 tonnes from 2004-05 to 2011-12. Prices, however, have gradually crept from US$307 a tonne in 2004-05 to about $828 a tonne in 2011-12.

Statistics compiled by the Directorate of Trade, under the Ministry of Commerce, show that chickpea exports in 2009-10 were 46,300 tonnes. Of this, 56 percent was exported to India, with further shipments sent to Pakistan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

In the first week of December newly harvested chickpea began entering markets in Mandalay Region’s Myingyan township, an important clearing house in the dry zone. Much of it was then purchased by traders, who had it milled and sent to Yangon.

Angel Commodities, an Indian website that focuses on foodstuffs, reported in late November that the nation’s sown acreage of chickpea was down 8pc on the previous crop, likely leading to greater demand for Myanmar imports.

U Kyaw Myint is a former civil servant, and consultant with the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Market Information Service Project, the Agriculture Market Information Service and E-Trade Myanmar.

source: The Myanmar Times
http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/4070-chickpea-stands-out-in-b-p-crops.html