Chickpea sales led Mexican agri-food exports in September in terms of year-on-year growth, with an increase of 99.2%, according to data from Inegi.

Before, from January to August, these external sales totaled 105 million dollars, 8.6% more compared to the same period last year.

In fact, also in August 2021, chickpea exports soared, an annual rate of 175.4%, to $ 21.4 million.

Regarding its volume, chickpea sales abroad totaled 123,896 tons in the first three quarters of the current year.

Chickpea is grown in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions and is valued for its nutritious, high-protein seeds.

According to the USDA, chickpea seeds are eaten fresh as green vegetables, dried, fried, roasted, and boiled; as snacks, candy, and condiments; the seeds are ground and the flour can be used as soup, dhal, and to make bread; prepared with pepper, salt and lemon is served as a garnish.

Chickpea sales

At a year-on-year rate, the growth in shipments of this legume in September was ahead of the increases corresponding to fish, crustaceans and molluscs (44.6%), edible fruits and fruits (30.3%), avocado (19%) and pepper (17.5 percent)

However, Inegi, the source of this information, does not specify the amount of external sales of these products.

In general, the value of agricultural and fishing exports in the ninth month of the current year was 1,275 million dollars, an amount that implied an annual growth of 3.3 percent.

In contrast, the most relevant annual reductions occurred in exports of cattle (63.2%) and frozen shrimp (43.9%). Regarding extractive exports, these were located at 604 million dollars with an annual increase of 2.7 percent.

In addition to being rich in protein, starch and lipids (more than other legumes), especially oleic and linoleic acid, which are unsaturated and lacking in cholesterol, chickpeas are a good source of fiber and calories.