The growing popularity of hummus has prompted Canadian farmers to plant the largest chickpea crop in 11 years.
Canada’s farmers report that they intend to plant 140,000 hectares of chickpeas this season, more than double what was sowed last year, the federal Agriculture Ministry said in a public report on the planting intentions of Canadian farmers. At the same, farmers say they are reducing the amount of peas and lentils they are planting this year due to steep import tariffs in India, the biggest buyer of such crops.
Of course, the major influence over the crops that farmers plant remains price. A metric ton of chickpeas will probably fetch as much as $980 in the current 2018-19 crop year, more than double what lentils will get and nearly four times more than peas, according to the government report. Those rising prices for chickpeas are underpinned by strong demand, driven by the increasing popularity of hummus and other vegetarian foods.
Chickpea growers in the U.S. have said they also plan to plant a record acreage of chickpeas this year as more Americans look to purchase healthier, gluten-free snacks such as hummus.
