In the past week the chickpea harvest across the north of the state has been in full swing, but as growers rushed to get their crop to the receival sites, things ground to a near halt.

At receivals from Narrabri up to Goondiwindi and the Darling Downs in Queensland, there have been reports of up to 20- and 24-hour waits to unload.

NSW Farmers’ Association grains committee chairwoman Rebecca Reardon said it was the growers wearing the costs of the delays – in added transport costs and in some cases penalties on late contracts.

“The trucks are sitting there for 20 hours or a full day waiting to unload,” she said.

“Truck demurrage is costing farmers between $100 and $130 an hour to pay for the truck and driver’s time and it makes it quite difficult to find transport companies to deliver chickpeas because they don’t want to wait in line for a day.”

A wet spring delayed the state’s chickpea harvest in most areas by two to three weeks – which has added pressure for those with set delivery contracts.

And, for the second consecutive year, there has been a record, huge harvest with production estimates indicating around 1.2 million tonnes of chickpea to be harvested this season – despite the disease problems resulting from a wet spring.

Mrs Reardon said while some are reporting yields around 2t/hectare, many crops are only around 1 t/ha, which is a reflection of losses due to the overly wet season.

“Growers who have November delivery contracts are going to potentially be unable to deliver in November through no fault of their own,” Mrs Reardon said.  

“Similarly growers who have discounted contract prices in December versus November face a lower return if they missed last Wednesday’s end of November deadline through no fault of their own.

“Growers will cop it in the back pocket.”

The NSW Farmers’ Association is calling on buyers to work with growers in good faith and cooperatively to assist growers in meeting their contractual requirements. And  not penalise them for unloading delays over which the grower has no control.

“Buyers need to consider contract extensions and work with sites to improve truck turnarounds,” Mrs Reardon said.