Australia emerges as potential pigeonpea supplier to India amid rising demand

Australia is positioned to emerge as a potential new source of pigeonpea, locally known as tur, for the Indian market following Brazil. According to trade experts, Australian farmers are showing interest in cultivating this pulse variety to tap into demand from India, which is the largest consumer.

Australia is already an established supplier of key pulses to India, including chickpeas and lentils. The country could expand its presence in the market by adding pigeonpea to its export basket in the coming years. Satish Upadhyay, Honorary Secretary of the India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), noted that Australia has the potential to become a major supplier of tur due to its available land resources and good product quality.

Upadhyay, who recently visited key growing regions near Melbourne and Brisbane, stated that Australia is likely to approach the Indian government soon to seek permission for tur exports. While current production stands at a few thousand tonnes, it has the potential to scale up to about a million tonnes.

Currently, pigeonpea is grown in Australia largely as a rotational crop primarily for its nitrogen-fixing properties, which help improve soil fertility and benefit subsequent crops. However, rising interest from the Indian market could encourage local farmers to treat it as a commercial crop, opening opportunities to expand acreage and production.

This potential development offers India an additional sourcing option at a time when diversifying import origins has become increasingly important. Although India’s domestic tur production grew from around 25.61 lakh tonnes in 2015-16 to about 35.92 lakh tonnes in 2025-26 according to third advance estimates, demand has been growing at a faster pace.

Furthermore, deficit rains and drought in key producing states such as Karnataka and Maharashtra are expected to shrink the tur crop for the 2026-27 season. Trade estimates place the upcoming crop between 20 to 25 lakh tonnes, falling short of the government's initial production target of 40 lakh tonnes.

India currently imports tur from countries including Mozambique, Myanmar, Tanzania, Sudan, and Malawi, with shipments from Brazil also expected to arrive soon. Import data shows that India's tur imports reached over 13.25 lakh tonnes during calendar year 2025. In the first seven months of calendar 2026, from January to July, tur imports rose by 44 percent to 5.79 lakh tonnes compared to 4.01 lakh tonnes during the same period in the previous year.

"The potential inclusion of Australia in India's pigeonpea supply chain highlights the critical importance of global agricultural trade in balancing domestic food security. With domestic production facing weather-related challenges like droughts in key states, diversifying import corridors helps stabilize supply and manage price volatility for consumers and businesses alike." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes