ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL CHICKPEAS TRADE: PROSPECTS FOR UKRAINIAN AGRIBUSINESS IN THE CONTEXT OF PRODUCTION AND EXPORT OF NICHE CROPS

Abstract

The article examines trends in global production and trade of chickpeas, analyzes the dynamics of Ukraine's export-import operations in this segment, and outlines the prospects for increasing the export of culture by domestic agribusiness. It is noted that over the past decade, the world market of chickpeas has been characterized by a tendency to increase its capacity due to the growth in demand for the crop, caused by the spread of various types of vegetarianism, concepts of healthy nutrition, the development of the chickpea protein market, etc. The dynamics and structure of global chickpea production by country as of 2022 were analyzed. It was found that the top five importers of chickpeas are Pakistan, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and India. Ukraine ranks 24th in the world ranking of chickpea exporters. It was noted that among all leguminous crops, chickpea production was the most affected by the war in Ukraine, as it is grown mainly in Odesa, Kharkiv and Kirovohrad regions. In 2022, the volume of crop supply to foreign markets was almost 5 times smaller compared to the previous period. It was revealed that the main buyers of Ukrainian chickpeas are Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Israel, in 2022 more than half (52.4%) of all exports were sold to these countries. It was established that the countries of the European Union import an average of 150,000 tons of chickpeas annually, mainly from Mexico, Turkey, Canada, Argentina and the USA. Attention is focused on the forecast of the global chickpea market capacity. It is noted that the dynamics of growth in the capacity of the world and European market of chickpeas, in particular, creates prospects for foreign trade in crops for Ukrainian agricultural producers, which is important from the standpoint of niche diversification of agribusiness.