Chickpeas Market Size & Share 2026-2035

Global Chickpeas Market Size

The global chickpeas market is valued at USD 17.1 billion in 2025. It is forecast to reach USD 32.2 billion by 2035, expanding at approximately 6.5% CAGR during 2026-2035. Commercially tracked volume rises from 790.43 KT in 2022 to 967.37 KT in 2025 and 1,803.20 KT by 2035.

Chickpea production is concentrated in a small group of origins, with India accounting for roughly three-quarters of world output. Australia, Türkiye, Russia, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Pakistan, the United States, Iran, Mexico, and Canada provide much of the remaining commercially relevant supply ^{[1]Crop Trust, croptrust.org}. That concentration gives the market two different demand engines: desi chickpeas underpin daily meals and flour-based preparations across South Asia and parts of the Middle East and Africa, while kabuli chickpeas support hummus, canned foods, snacks, and premium retail products in export markets.

Trade conditions can rapidly alter the balance between these demand systems. India suspended its import tariff on desi chickpeas in May 2024 to address domestic supply pressure, reopening a significant outlet for Australian supply. Australia subsequently shipped 789,065 tonnes of chickpeas in the year ended September 2024, with Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the UAE among its principal destinations. The Australian harvest then reached 2.0 million tonnes in 2024-25, compared with 546,000 tonnes in the prior season, demonstrating the magnitude of seasonal supply swings available to global buyers.

The value chain ranges from farm production and merchant aggregation through cleaning, grading, splitting, decortication, milling, extrusion, protein concentration, and branded food manufacture. This matters because value creation is shifting unevenly. Bulk dried chickpeas remain the trading foundation, whereas flour, protein concentrates, ready-to-eat products, and certified organic material allow processors to compete on functionality, traceability, allergen management, and formulation performance rather than solely on crop availability. In the United States, organic chickpea grower prices remained at USD 70.00/cwt through November 2024, compared with USD 33.40/cwt for conventional chickpeas, illustrating the commercial value of certified supply in a constrained premium segment ^{[2]U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, ers.usda.gov}.

Supply reliability remains the principal strategic constraint. India's tariff decisions and Australia's harvest variability can change export availability and price signals faster than downstream product-development cycles can adjust. Buyers using chickpea as a branded ingredient therefore require broader sourcing than a single-origin spot-procurement model. Multi-origin contracts, food-grade specifications, inventory planning, and certified supply programs become commercial safeguards rather than administrative requirements.

Key Drivers

India's population scale and the dietary role of dal, besan, and whole chickpea preparations give the market an unusually stable volume base. Import demand adds a second layer of support when local production falls short. Pakistan imported approximately 409 million kg of dried shelled chickpeas in 2024, while India imported approximately 528 million kg, indicating that supply shortfalls in major consuming countries can materially redirect global trade. For exporters, the commercial opportunity is not simply population growth; it is the recurring need to reconcile domestic food consumption with volatile domestic harvests.

Plant-based reformulation is widening the addressable market beyond whole pulses. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration completed its review of GRAS Notice 1098 for chickpea protein concentrate in August 2023 without questions, supporting uses in dry-blend protein powders, extruded snacks, bakery products, pasta, dairy alternatives, and nutritional beverages at specified inclusion levels ^{[3]U.S. Food and Drug Administration, fda.gov}. This provides formulation certainty for manufacturers seeking protein enrichment, gluten-free positioning, or allergen-management options.

Commercial launches demonstrate how these technical attributes translate into demand for processed chickpea inputs. Ardent Mills introduced Egg Replace, a chickpea flour-based egg substitute, and Ancient Grains Plus Baking Flour Blend in June 2023; Egg Replace was later launched in Canada. Ingredion's exclusive distribution partnership for InnovoPro's CP-Pro 70 chickpea protein concentrate in the United States and Canada created a dedicated route to market for a solvent-free chickpea protein ingredient with 70% protein content. These developments favor suppliers that can deliver consistent flour functionality and protein specifications, rather than only bulk grain.

Nutrition and sustainability reinforce this shift. Chickpeas provide protein, dietary fiber, micronutrients, and bioactive compounds relevant to functional-food development. Their symbiotic relationship with Rhizobium can reduce nitrogen fertilizer requirements within crop rotations, strengthening their fit with lower-input farming systems. A wheat-chickpea rotation study in Mediterranean Italy found lower global-warming potential and freshwater ecotoxicity than wheat monoculture, alongside a higher gross margin. Such outcomes increase the relevance of traceability and crop-rotation documentation for buyers with sustainability-linked procurement criteria.

Key Restraints

Climate exposure is concentrated in the same dryland regions that supply much of the traded crop. Drought and heat are major constraints on chickpea yield, and research identifies both stresses as substantial contributors to global production losses ^{[4]National Center for Biotechnology Information, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov}. Higher seasonal temperatures can reduce yields materially, particularly when heat and moisture stress coincide during flowering and pod filling. The resulting supply risk affects more than growers: processors may face inconsistent seed quality, merchants need larger working-capital buffers, and food manufacturers with fixed customer prices can experience input-cost pressure.

Australia illustrates the operational consequence of this volatility. Its 2023-24 crop of 546,000 tonnes was followed by a 2.0 million-tonne harvest in 2024-25. Such changes can rapidly move freight demand, storage availability, export pricing, and competing-origin economics. A processor that has committed capacity to a specific origin can therefore face either insufficient supply or a sudden need to absorb a much larger crop.

Trade policy creates a separate source of uncertainty. India's 2024 suspension of its tariff on desi chickpeas reopened a trade route that had been constrained after tariffs were introduced in 2017-18. Australian farm-gate prices rose sharply following the suspension, while planted area in New South Wales expanded in response to the prospective demand window. However, tariff relief intended to manage domestic food inflation does not provide the same certainty as a permanent market-access agreement. Exporters and importers must balance the upside of reopened demand against the risk that policy changes interrupt contracts, alter destination economics, or leave inventories exposed.

Yet the new ingredient opportunity remains exposed to agricultural conditions. A snack or dairy-alternative manufacturer may price its finished product against branded competitors, but its chickpea input can still be affected by Indian tariff policy or a variable Australian harvest. Competitive advantage will accrue to firms that combine specialty processing with diversified origin networks, rather than treating value-added demand as insulated from the agricultural supply base.

Global Chickpeas Market Segment Analysis

Product Type

Kabuli chickpeas are valued at USD 4.238 billion in 2025 and are projected to reach USD 8.050 billion by 2035, at approximately 6.63% CAGR. Their larger, smooth, light-colored seeds suit hummus, canned products, salads, and premium retail formats. Demand is particularly relevant in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Mediterranean food-service channels, where appearance, hydration performance, and consistency influence product quality.

Desi chickpeas account for USD 12.862 billion in 2025 and are projected to reach USD 24.150 billion by 2035, at approximately 6.50% CAGR. Their scale reflects Indian and South Asian dietary use, as well as their role in split chickpeas and besan flour. Desi supply is more closely tied to staple-food economics, domestic crop availability, and import policy, making it the principal volume driver in the overall market.

Form

Dried/raw chickpeas remain the largest form, increasing from USD 12.055 billion in 2025 to USD 22.862 billion by 2035 at approximately 6.61% CAGR. This segment is the foundation of cross-border trade, primary processing, and household cooking. Its value is strongly influenced by grade, origin, freight availability, and destination-country tariff conditions.

Flour & powder is valued at USD 2.887 billion in 2025 and is forecast to reach USD 5.345 billion by 2035. Chickpea flour is embedded in traditional besan applications but is also used in gluten-free bakery, pasta, snack, and egg-replacement formulations. AGT Foods' Minot facility produces pulse-based extruded products, while Ardent Mills' launches show how chickpea flour is being positioned as a functional input rather than only a culinary staple ^{[5]Agweek, agweek.com}.

Ready-to-eat products total USD 2.157 billion in 2025 and are expected to reach USD 3.993 billion by 2035. Hummus, roasted snacks, canned chickpeas, pasta, and protein crisps create a direct link between chickpea consumption and branded retail. AGT Foods' investment in Chickapea, a chickpea-and-yellow-pea pasta brand, reflects interest in moving pulse demand into consumer-facing formats ^{[6]Milling Middle East & Africa, millingmea.com}.

Nature

Conventional chickpeas account for USD 14.816 billion in 2025 and are projected to reach USD 28.014 billion by 2035 at approximately 6.58% CAGR. This category supplies the scale needed by staple-food, wholesale, and mass-market processing channels.

Organic chickpeas are valued at USD 2.284 billion in 2025 and are projected to reach USD 4.186 billion by 2035. The segment is smaller but commercially differentiated by certification, traceability, and premium pricing. U.S. price data show the extent to which certified organic supply can command a premium over conventional crop values. Organic processing also benefits from chickpea's fit within legume-based crop rotations, although certification and supply segregation remain important cost and execution requirements.

Application

Food & beverages is the dominant application, rising from USD 14.879 billion in 2025 to USD 28.111 billion by 2035. Home cooking and traditional meals remain the largest underlying use, particularly for dal, besan, curries, falafel, hummus, and soups. Ready meals and prepared foods gain from urban time constraints and modern retail development. Bakery & confectionery applications use chickpea flour for gluten-free and protein-enriched formats, while snacks & savories are supported by roasted chickpea products, crisps, and chips. Plant-based protein products are the most strategically significant high-value subsegment because chickpea concentrates can be used in protein powders, meat alternatives, dairy alternatives, and nutritional beverages under the GRAS framework. Other food uses include hummus, dips, sauces, and soups.

Animal feed rises from USD 1.011 billion in 2025 to USD 1.835 billion by 2035. Lower-grade crop, hulls, screenings, and processing co-products offer outlets in poultry, swine, and aquaculture formulations. Their role is partly determined by food-grade demand and the availability of co-products from milling and protein processing.

Nutraceuticals increase from USD 0.875 billion in 2025 to USD 1.739 billion by 2035. Chickpea proteins and hydrolysates are relevant to functional-food and supplement development because published research identifies antioxidant, ACE-inhibitory, and other bioactive properties associated with chickpea protein fractions. Industrial applications, including starch derivatives, bioplastic-related feedstocks, and cosmetic formulations, rise from USD 0.335 billion to USD 0.515 billion over the same period.

Distribution Channel

Wholesale & direct sales is the largest channel, advancing from USD 7.588 billion in 2025 to USD 14.426 billion by 2035. It remains central because major producing and importing countries transact bulk chickpeas through merchants, processors, and direct contracts.

Supermarkets & hypermarkets grow from USD 4.597 billion to USD 8.565 billion, serving packaged dried chickpeas, canned formats, flour, hummus, and branded snacks. Specialty stores expand from USD 1.896 billion to USD 3.639 billion and are particularly relevant for organic, gluten-free, ethnic, and premium functional-food products.

Online retail rises from USD 1.720 billion in 2025 to USD 3.284 billion by 2035. The channel is important for repeat purchase of specialty flour, organic products, and branded snacks, although product economics depend on fulfillment costs and pack-size strategy. Convenience stores increase from USD 1.300 billion to USD 2.286 billion, supported primarily by portable ready-to-eat snack formats.

End User

Food processors & manufacturers constitute the largest end-user segment, rising from USD 8.086 billion in 2025 to USD 15.456 billion by 2035. This group includes dal and flour millers, ingredient suppliers, extrusion facilities, and packaged-food manufacturers. Its purchasing decisions increasingly distinguish between commodity-grade crop and ingredients that meet specific protein, particle-size, microbiological, and allergen-management requirements.

Household/retail consumers grow from USD 6.449 billion to USD 11.914 billion. The segment combines staple purchases in producing and importing countries with packaged retail demand in developed markets. Food service operators increase from USD 1.720 billion to USD 3.284 billion, supported by hummus, falafel, salads, curries, and plant-forward menu development. Institutional buyers rise from USD 0.845 billion to USD 1.546 billion, reflecting bulk procurement for schools, hospitals, public feeding programs, and other nutrition-focused settings.

The most consequential value migration is therefore not from desi to kabuli, or from wholesale to online retail, in isolation. It is the movement from unprocessed crop toward applications where chickpea functionality can be protected and priced: gluten-free flour systems, protein concentrates, egg alternatives, snacks, and prepared foods. Processors that retain access to bulk origin supply while building certified, food-grade conversion capacity are better positioned to participate in both models without being confined to commodity trading margins.

Global Chickpeas Market Regional Analysis

North America

North America is valued at USD 1.209 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 2.254 billion by 2035 at approximately 6.43% CAGR. The U.S. market rises from USD 0.967 billion in 2025 to USD 1.803 billion by 2035. U.S. production is concentrated in Montana, Washington, Idaho, and North Dakota, while imports supplement domestic supply for food and ingredient uses. The region's main growth distinction is its value-added processing base: ingredient companies, gluten-free manufacturers, and snack producers are expanding chickpea applications beyond bulk consumption.

Canada is both a production origin and a processing base. Saskatchewan is a major pulse-producing region, and Canadian supply supports domestic processors as well as export markets. The country's relevance extends beyond crop volume because Canadian companies are investing in North American flour, extrusion, and branded-food platforms.

Europe

Europe grows from USD 0.860 billion in 2025 to USD 1.642 billion by 2035, the highest regional CAGR at approximately 6.68%. Germany, the UK, France, Spain, Italy, and the Rest of Europe form a largely import-dependent market in which hummus, Mediterranean foods, gluten-free products, and plant-based offerings support demand. The European Union imported approximately 166 million kg of dried shelled chickpeas in 2024, confirming the region's reliance on external sources.

Germany is especially relevant to plant-based food development, with CBI reporting that 55% of German consumers identify as flexitarian ^{[7]Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries, cbi.eu}. Ingredion and Lantmännen's November 2024 strategic partnership, supported by an announced investment of more than EUR 100 million in a Swedish plant-based protein facility expected in 2027, demonstrates continued investment in European protein-processing infrastructure. Europe's growth is therefore driven less by local crop expansion than by food-manufacturing demand and import-chain reliability.

Asia Pacific

Asia Pacific is the largest market, expanding from USD 12.947 billion in 2025 to USD 24.472 billion by 2035 at approximately 6.57% CAGR. India dominates regional consumption and production, while China, Japan, Australia, South Korea, and the Rest of Asia Pacific contribute through food processing, consumer demand, or supply. India's role is defining because changes in domestic crop conditions and trade policy influence global price formation.

The 2024 tariff suspension demonstrated this link. India's effort to curb domestic food inflation reopened import demand and helped spur Australian production and exports. Australia's 2024-25 crop recovery then increased the supply available to India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and other Asian markets. For regional buyers, this creates both an opportunity for import diversification and exposure to policy-led changes in trade economics.

Latin America

Latin America is valued at USD 0.635 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 1.127 billion by 2035 at approximately 5.90% CAGR. Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and the Rest of Latin America remain comparatively commodity-led markets. Mexico is important as a kabuli producer and exporter, while Argentina has an emerging role in supplying export markets, including the United States and Europe. Consumer adoption of packaged, plant-based, and convenience-oriented chickpea products provides upside, but the region's growth rate remains below that of other major regions.

Middle East & Africa

The Middle East and Africa market rises from USD 1.449 billion in 2025 to USD 2.705 billion by 2035 at approximately 6.44% CAGR. Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the UAE, and the Rest of the Middle East and Africa are supported by longstanding consumption of hummus, falafel, stews, soups, and pulse-based household meals. Algeria imported approximately 170 million kg of dried shelled chickpeas in 2024, highlighting the scale of structural import demand in North Africa.

The UAE's role as a trading and re-export hub adds logistical importance beyond its domestic demand. ETG Group's agricultural operations span sourcing, processing, and distribution across Africa and Asia; its Kolkata pulse-processing plant has 360,000 MT per annum of capacity, supporting links between African origination and South Asian consumption markets ^{[8]ETC Holdings, etcholdings.net}. The region therefore combines traditional demand resilience with a need for dependable import logistics and accessible food-grade supply.

Europe and North America have a different role: they are the principal centers of ingredient upgrading, branded retail, and plant-based formulation. Their growth depends on stable access to suitable-grade imports and on processors' ability to separate premium ingredients from bulk-crop volatility. The Middle East and Africa remain commercially important because traditional consumption is deeply embedded and import demand is durable. A balanced regional strategy requires both access to Asian staple-demand corridors and capacity to serve Western ingredient markets where processing and certification determine value capture.

Global Chickpeas Market Share & Competitive Landscape

The competitive landscape spans commodity merchants, pulse originators, primary processors, ingredient manufacturers, and value-added food businesses. Competitive advantage is increasingly determined by the ability to connect crop origination with cleaning, grading, dehulling, milling, extrusion, protein processing, and application support.

ADM (Archer Daniels Midland)

ADM expanded its Canadian pulse-processing footprint through the July 2023 acquisition of Prairie Pulse Inc. in Vanscoy, Saskatchewan. The site provides bulk storage and pulse cleaning, milling, dehulling, splitting, sorting, and bagging capabilities for chickpeas, lentils, and peas. ADM also markets NutriStem chickpea powder for gluten-free product development, positioning the company in both origination and specialty ingredient applications.

Agrocorp Processing Australia

Agrocorp Processing Australia operates in Australian pulse processing and export, including sorting, cleaning, grading, and export preparation. Its position is closely linked to crop conditions and market access in Australia's major chickpea-export corridors.

AGT Food & Ingredients Inc.

AGT Food & Ingredients operates a global pulse-processing and export platform with facilities across Canada, the U.S., Türkiye, Australia, and South Africa. In July 2024, the company opened a Minot, North Dakota extrusion center producing gluten-free pasta, plant-based meat analogs, protein crisps, puffs, granules, and cereal products from pulse feedstocks. Its investment in Chickapea also extends the company's participation into branded pulse-based pasta.

Ardent Mills

Ardent Mills has developed chickpea flour-based product offerings for bakery and gluten-free applications. Its Egg Replace product uses chickpea flour as a 1:1 egg alternative, while its Ancient Grains Plus Baking Flour Blend incorporates chickpeas for protein enrichment. The company's role illustrates how flour millers can use chickpea functionality to enter higher-value formulation categories.

Avena Foods

Avena Foods is a Canadian specialty grain and pulse processor serving gluten-free and allergen-controlled food applications. Its relevance to the market lies in handling requirements for chickpea ingredients intended for premium retail and food-manufacturing channels.

Bean Growers Australia

Bean Growers Australia operates in the Australian grower-origination and primary marketing tier. Its commercial position is linked to producer networks in major growing states and the export opportunities created by changes in South Asian demand.

Diefenbaker Spice & Pulse (DSP)

Diefenbaker Spice & Pulse operates in Saskatchewan's pulse-production corridor, providing cleaning, processing, and origination services for Canadian-grown pulses, including chickpeas.

ETG Group

ETG Group is an agricultural trading, processing, and distribution company operating across Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Its pulse platform includes a 360,000 MT per annum automated processing facility in Kolkata and sourcing operations across several African countries. Institutional financing from FMO and the European Investment Bank has supported ETG's African logistics and expansion initiatives.

Grain Processing Corporation (GPC)

Grain Processing Corporation supplies grain-based starch, protein, and fiber ingredients to food, feed, and industrial customers. Its market relevance is tied to the broader expansion of plant-derived ingredient portfolios and the potential use of pulse-derived inputs in differentiated applications.

Ingredion Incorporated

Ingredion has built a chickpea protein position through its investment in InnovoPro and its exclusive U.S. and Canadian distribution agreement for CP-Pro 70. The company's partnership with Lantmännen also signals ongoing investment in European plant-protein capacity. Its competitive advantage is its formulation expertise and established route to market across global food and beverage customers.

MT Royal

MT Royal operates in Canadian pulse trading and processing, supplying domestic processors and export customers from the Saskatchewan production corridor.

Nutriati Inc.

Nutriati developed chickpea protein concentrates and flours using proprietary wet-fractionation technology under the Artesa brand. Tate & Lyle acquired substantially all of Nutriati's assets in May 2022, including its chickpea protein and flour intellectual property ^{[9]Tate & Lyle, tateandlyle.com}. The asset base remains relevant to chickpea's use in non-dairy, plant-based meat, and gluten-free formulations.

Superior Pulses

Superior Pulses provides pulse origination and primary processing services in Saskatchewan, including grading, cleaning, sorting, and bagging for food-grade domestic and export trade.

Vad Industries

Vad Industries operates in India's pulse-processing and food-ingredients sector. Its commercial environment is shaped by the country's large domestic chickpea crop, dal and besan processing networks, and the coexistence of traditional retail and modern packaged-food channels.

Recent Industry Developments

India Suspends Import Tariff on Desi Chickpeas - May 2024

India suspended its import tariff on desi chickpeas in May 2024, effective through March 31, 2025, to address domestic food-price pressure and supply conditions. The policy change reopened demand for Australian chickpeas and was followed by an increase in Australian planted area and prices.

Ingredion and Lantmännen Form Plant-Protein Partnership - November 2024

Ingredion and Lantmännen announced a strategic partnership in November 2024, supported by Lantmännen's planned investment of more than EUR 100 million in a Swedish plant-based protein facility expected to be completed in 2027.