Is Drought in Rajasthan a Signal for Chickpea Prices?

By Trent Klarenbach, BSA AgEc, PAg, founder and lead analyst, Klarenbach Research

Drought declared in Rajasthan

Rajasthan, in northwest India, has declared drought for the 2026 kharif (monsoon) season. A notification on October 24 covered 53 tehsils (sub-districts) in 13 districts. A second notification on October 25 added 27 more, for a total of 80 tehsils across 14 districts, with 69 classed as severe and 11 as moderate, as reported by the Hindustan Times and the New Indian Express. The declarations last six months.

News18 reported 258 mm of rain this season against a normal 350–400 mm.

Why it matters for chana

Rajasthan is a major chana (desi chickpea) state, and chana is a rabi crop, seeded in the fall and harvested in late winter and spring. Farmers in western Rajasthan often seed rabi crops on stored soil moisture. This year that moisture isn't there, and low soil moisture is expected to cut chana and mustard seeding in Pali, Jalore and Barmer, per News18.

CMB News has already flagged slower chana seeding in Rajasthan as a risk to India's 2026/27 balance.

Imports were already falling

India's chickpea imports fell 44% from January to August, according to trade figures shared on X by @ashujhanwar. That leaves less of a cushion if the domestic crop comes up short.

Replacement supply isn't cheap

Australia is the main exporter of desi chickpeas to India. Australian offers sit around $800–820 per tonne C&F (cost and freight to India). If India needs to buy more later in the season, that is the price level it starts from.

What it means on the Prairies

Saskatchewan grows mostly kabuli chickpeas, a different market from India's desi chana. Still, India is the world's biggest chickpea consumer, and a short Indian crop tends to ripple through the whole pulse complex. Chickpea holders have a reason to follow India's crop over the next few months.

What to watch

• Rabi chana seeding progress reports from India's agriculture ministry through November and December
• Any rain that rebuilds soil moisture in western Rajasthan
• India's import duty and policy decisions on chickpeas
• Australian chickpea offers to India as the new Australian crop is harvested

The Special Crops Report covers chickpeas on its kabuli chickpea page, and members can follow the charts on the Grain Report Premium Chart Dashboard.

Klarenbach Research is independent, takes no commissions and does not tell readers what percentage of their crop to sell.

Sources: Government of Rajasthan drought notifications, Oct. 24–25, 2026, via Hindustan Times and New Indian Express · News18 rainfall and sowing report, Oct. 2026 · CMB News chickpea market report, Oct. 2026 · India chickpea import figures shared by @ashujhanwar on X, Oct. 2026

Originally posted on X: Trent Klarenbach's post on Rajasthan drought and India's chana crop