December 7, 2023
Navneet Chhabra and Dario Bard checked in with Melisa Arribere and Caroline Bisoni, traders at Jewell Specialties (formerly Agronegocios Jewell) for the latest on Argentina’s 2023 crop.
After three consecutive years of dry conditions brought on by La Niña, Argentina’s kabuli chickpea production is starting to bounce back. Although conditions remained dry in the traditional growing area of Cordoba, in the northern provinces where the majority of the crop is now grown, farmers celebrated the return of good yields and a normal caliber-size distribution.
“We estimate the nationwide average kabuli chickpea yield at 1.2 – 1.4 MT/ha.,” reports Carolina. “That would give us approximately 100 – 110,000 MT of production.”
Jewell Specialties forms part of the Ciebos Group, an agribusiness conglomerate focused on growing its value-added pulse business. The Group recently partnered with Healthyveg, a company based in Pergamino, Argentina, dedicated to the production of peas, lentils and pea derivatives, including pea flour, and C-MERAK, a Canadian maker of faba bean protein concentrate.
Last year, Jewell Specialties acquired a pulse processing plant in the province of Salta, the new heart of Argentina’s kabuli chickpea production. This year, the company seeded 400 ha. of kabuli chickpeas in Salta and 200 ha. in Santiago del Estero, plus an additional 600 ha. jointly with other producers.
“We would have liked to seed an additional 2,000 – 2,500 ha. this year, but it wasn’t possible due to low soil moisture,” says Carolina.
Source: Jewell Specialties
Photo courtesy of Jewell Specialties.
Photo courtesy of Jewell Specialties.
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