The lentil market has exploded to life on the back of concerns about drought in both India, the world's largest importer of the pulse crop, and Canada, the world's largest exporter.
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It leaves Australian lentil producers in a favourable position in the lead-up to harvest with prices exploding to in excess of $1000 a tonne for both new and old crop.
There is reasonable industry confidence about the prospects of the sector to carve out another historically large crop, following a record 1.5 million tonne Australian crop last year.
With the bulk of Australia's lentil production centred on South Australia and Victoria, both of which have experienced average rainfall so far for the season, the climate risk for lentils is a lot lower than for Australia's other major pulse crop, chickpeas, grown primarily in the drought- impacted states of Queensland and New South Wales.
Will Alexander, Australian Grain Export, said India had been active in the market over the past month in particular in response to below average summer monsoons in the subcontinent and fears over the outlook for the autumn monsoon which runs from October to December.
Compounding this there have been dry conditions in key parts of the Canadian lentil belt.
"The Canadians are in the middle of their harvest and we have not see the harvest pressure on the global price we normally see,' Mr Alexander said.
He said Australian fears there would be difficulties in moving last year's big crop had been smoothed over.
"We've seen a 1.5m tonne crop and it is just being swallowed up and they are keen for the new crop as well."
"Prices have come up around $200/t in the past fortnight for both old and new crop as there is growing concern regarding Indian production both for the current season and potentially into the new year."
Mr Alexander said the price surge had flushed old crop supplies out.
"We've seen a lot of willing sellers as the price hit $1000/t, we purchased 4000 tonnes last week alone."
He said the price had been attractive enough to see farmers prepared to lock in small forward contracts as well.
"They still have some seasonal risk but the crops look good and they've decided it is worth locking in a small percentage of expected production."
The increase in lentil production is primarily due to their spread into the low rainfall zones of Victoria and South Australia.
Victorian Mallee farmers Dave and John Ferrier, BIrchip, say there is a big plant of lentils in their area this year.
Crops are in healthy condition following reasonable winter rain with good yield potential, although the pair cautioned further rain would be needed to fulfil this potential.
Across the border in SA, crops in the Lower Mid North are also tracking well.
John Lush farms with son Paul and grandson Nicholas in the Mallala district around 60km north of Adelaide.
The family are growing 750 hectares of Highland and Thunder lentils this year having grown lentils for more than a decade.
Mr Lush said the legume had been a consistently profitable and reliable crop for them, particularly last year where they had some paddocks yield up to 4 tonnes a hectare.
Growth started slow due to cold and wet conditions and there were emergence issues due to slugs, but most lentil paddocks are now close to canopy closure and travelling well, with year to date rainfall of 225mm tracking within the district average in the 400mm annual rainfall zone.
Disease hasn't been a problem as yet, Mr Lush said, because they'd applied preventative sprays to preempt any outbreaks.
As with the Ferriers rainfall through spring will be critical.
"It is all going to depend on the rain from now until the end of October," Mr Lush said.
"If we have average rains from now until the end of October, we'll probably have a slightly above average year because we started with a fair bit of moisture in the bank.
"A dry finish, we might be average or just below."
Janine Sounness, PB Seeds commercial manager said the upper Eyre Peninsula in SA was another area to see increased plantings of the legume.
"There are reports of more in that upper EP, the Mallee plant is fairly consistent with last year with farmers planting good amounts allowing for their rotational constraints while the Wimmera also has a good area in," she said.
"Lentils have really bedded down and consolidated as Australia's major pulse crop in recent years, we've seen some big crops and it has not sent the price tumbling down as some feared."
"Farmers can plant the crop, confident they will see good gross margins at a price around that $700/t mark but you also have the scope to get some real cream in years like this where you see these spikes in prices, farmers are comfortable storing the crop and we've seen there is the potential for some big moves when the market is looking for product."
Mr Alexander said the price surge was likely to impact all of Australia's major pulse commodities.
"It could flow through to the Australian desi chickpea crop, depending on how many are produced given the dry conditions through NSW and Queensland as there just aren't many alternative sources for that specific product elsewhere."
Chickpea prices are currently hovering around $600/t in northern NSW although the price is only nominal as there is little product available.
"We've also seen faba beans kick up $150/t to $500/t in recent weeks and there is potential for further upside on the back of the direction of the pulse complex as a whole and demand from Egypt, the major human consumption market for faba beans."
