Description
The chickpea (Binomial name is Cicer arietinum) (also garbanzo bean, Indian pea, ceci bean, Bengal gram) is an edible legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Chickpeas are high in protein and one of the earliest cultivated vegetables; 7,500-year-old remains have been found in the Middle East.[1] Chickpea , the third most important food legume of the world is commonly known as chana and Garbanzo beans. It contains 25 per cent proteins, which is the maximum among pulses and 60 per cent carbohydrates along with significant amounts of molybdenum, zinc, folate, manganese and dietary fibre. This crop, mainly cultivated in rabi season, has the capacity to withstand drought conditions. Two types of chickpea are produced namely Desi and Kabuli, which are classified on the basis the seed size, colour and taste. About 20-25 per cent of the chickpea production in the world is Kabuli and the remainder is Desi. The large Kabuli type is used mainly in salad bars and vegetable mixes. Chickpeas are also used as a vegetable and in preparing a wide variety of snack foods, soups, sweets, and condiments. Smaller size Kabuli chickpeas are used whole, de-hulled and split to produce dal, or ground into fine flour called besan. In West Asia, consumption is based on a popular dish known as “hummus” which is produced from mashed chickpeas. In many regions, young plants and green pods are eaten like spinach.
Specifications
With an estimated global production of 9.7 million tonnes in 2008-09, chickpea is grown in about 50 countries around the world covering an area of 11 million ha with an average global productivity of 881 kg per hectare. India is the leading producer of chickpea contributing to about 70 per cent of the world’s chickpea production, followed by Pakistan (8 per cent) and Turkey (6 per cent). Yield levels are significantly higher for countries such as Yemen (2.7 tonnes/ha), Bosnia (2.6 tonnes/ha) and China (2.4 tonnes/ha).
India has a variable trend of chickpea production, thereby, impacting the world production trend in chickpea over the years. There has been a steady increase in the area under chickpeas from 6.71 million ha in 2004-05 to 7.85 million ha in 2008-09 but the production shows variations owing to several factors such as rainfall pattern and disease incidence. During 2008-09, the chickpea production was about seven million tonnes, with average productivity of 894 kg per hectare.
World exports during the past 10 years were variable, depending mainly on domestic production volumes in India and other countries, which both produce and import chickpeas. India and surrounding countries import mainly the Desi type, while countries in North and South America, Europe, West Asia and Africa import mainly the Kabuli type. Top chickpea exporters of the world were Australia (524996 tonnes), Mexico (1,44,036 tonnes), India (89,161 tonnes) and Turkey (88,507 tonnes) in 2009.The leading importers of chickpea were India (303885 tonnes), Pakistan (1,98,910), Algeria (53,574) and UK (27,219). With a huge domestic demand, India is a net importer of chickpea and has a share of about 28 per cent in world chickpea import market. India imports chickpea mainly from Australia (70 per cent), Canada (4 per cent), Myanmar (4 per cent), Tanzania (10 per cent) and the US (3 per cent). However, there is also a significant share of India in global chickpea exports. India exported 95,264 tonnes of chickpea in 2009-10, which included dried and shelled chickpea. Major export destinations for chickpea from India are Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Algeria, Turkey and the UAE.
Chickpea is gown in winter only and is harvested between February to April. Producing States and Divisions are Sagaing, Pago ( West), Magway, Mandalay and Ayeyarwaddy.
Last few years, It exported most of its production but it exports to down treand in this year. It exported to India, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and UAE by oversea . Export Volumes are about 60000 tonnes in 2006-07, about 120000 tonnes in 2007-08, about 90000 tonnes in 2008-09, about 50000 tonnes in 2009-10 and about 4000 in 2010-11(up to november).