As further proof that God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers, everyone’s favourite dip — hummus, obviously — might be in jeopardy thanks to a global chickpea shortage.
Please drop an F in the chat for our humble, fallen soldier.
According to the Global Pulse Confederation, global supplies of chickpeas could drop by 20 per cent this year, which is an absolutely stonking drop considering 11.5 million tonnes of chickpeas are produced on average per year.
Why is the humble chickpea suffering such a cruel death, you ask? Per a report from Reuters, borked weather around the world and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are the main culprits.
Director of global chickpea trader and brokerage firm Shree Sheela International, Navneet Singh Chhabra, told Reuters that Ukrainian farmers missed out on exporting 50,000 tonnes of chickpeas to Europe because the war meant they couldn’t harvest their crops.
And due to sanctions imposed on Russia, global buyers have bid adieu to the country’s bountiful chickpea supplies.
“Russia is exporting around 200,000 to 250,000 tonnes, minimum, per year year,” Chhabra said.
“When the war started in February, the supply was destroyed, totally.”
On the weather front, farmers in the United States — the fourth-largest chickpea exporter in the world — didn’t plant as many chickpea crops this year due to shit house forecasts. According to the Guardian, 5 per cent fewer acres were planted in the springtime.
Mexico, another pulse powerhouse, also harvested fewer crops thanks to worrisome weather.
And you know the horrendous floods, which have been plaguing much Australia’s east coast for what seems like donkey’s years? The rain has literally been drowning our chickpea crops.
“Parts of the planted area [are] still under water,” director of advisory services at Australian agriculture brokerage IKON Commodities, Ole Houe, said.
Who’d have known grazing boards would be the next victim of a harrowing global conflict and devastating floods.
While the decline of hummus is truly upsetting for us, at least there are myriad dips to ease the pain. Baba ganoush, French onion and even the zesty Greek taramasalata all spring to mind — but sadly, none of them have the same sex appeal as a big ol’ 1kg tub of Yumi’s hummus.
