I. Chickpea Introduction
Chickpea is one of the oldest legume food which has been domesticated dating back to around 3500 BC. Nowadays, chickpea is normally cultivated in two main types commercially: Desi chickpeas, which have small, dark, rough appearance and are farmed in India. Kabuli chickpeas, which have bigger, lighter colored, smooth appearance and are farmed in Europe, Africa, and the Mediterranean.
Growing under the cool weather and semi-dry condition, rotational chickpea crops fit well in wheat and barley farming system, so its annual production can be up to 13 million MT which is located third among legume crops’ production. Chickpea’s high agricultural production has potential to bring benefits to local farmers and add flexibility to legume farming, it also gives the market opportunity to chickpea processors since chickpea can fit well with processing machines. What’s more, chickpea is the important source of protein, dietary fiber, vitamin and amino acids, the proper processing will help people absorb nutrients easier.
II. Chickpea Processing Technology Analysis
Processed chickpea is more hygienic and storage-proof, so chickpea processing is usually done in the home or in industry. In the home, chickpea can be canned for culinary use or pureed into hummus. While a large number of chickpea is more suitable by processing in industry, chickpea processing industrially can be divided into two stages: the first stage includes sorting/shelling/peeling steps after that skinless chickpea can be sold in the market or further processed by frying/grinding steps. Among these processing steps, shelling & peeling technology is the key point in chickpea processing. Shelling & peeling technology will be firstly emphasized from below before introducing chickpea processing steps.
1. Chickpea Shelling Technology
Chickpea shelling machine adopts hard rubber rolls and airflow to husk chickpea pod. Shelling principle is by passing two rotating rubber rolls in opposite directions at different speed, chickpea pod will be broken, then kernels & shells are sent by upward airflow and vibration screen separately into two outlets due to different gravity.
With advanced technology and compact structure, chickpea shelling becomes high-efficiently and cost-effectively.
2. Chickpea peeling technology
Chickpea wet type peeling machine adopts soft rubber rollers to peel chickpea skins. Peeling principle is by pouring wet chickpea to the soft rubber roller, chickpea skins will be peeled by rubber friction, then the skins and kernels will flow out from two outlets.
Chickpea peeling technology takes advantage of the soft rubber surfaces so it can protect chickpea from being squeezed when rubber rubs chickpea skins. And the airflow will send skins & kernels to the different outlet so it saves labors of picking.
Chickpea shelling and peeling technology are widely applied in chickpea processing machines & production lines. In processing steps, machines with this optimized technology can satisfy medium, large scale production.
III. Chickpea Processing Steps
1 Sorting, shelling and peeling steps
(1)Sorting
Chickpea sorting can uniform chickpea size and contribute to shell efficiently without destroying shelling rolls. It can be done by manual work or sorting machine.
(2)Shelling
After grading, the uniformed chickpea will get husked by chickpea shelling machine. With the machine, you just need to put chickpea in the feed inlet and it will be shelled & separated automatically. As for different scales of processing factories, machines in the different capacity of 200-300 kg/h, 300-500 kg/h and 1000 kg/h can be customized. What’s more, the rotary, roller and roll gap are all adjustable which can shell different kinds of chickpea. After shelling, the chickpea shells can be collected for further processing into animal feed.
Please pay note to another gravity separator for shells & kernels is also for sale which can separate effectively with low consumption.
(3)Peeling
Before peeling, chickpea should be soaked in water to reduce friction. Peeling is necessary because the peeled one tastes pure and it can be used in further processing like frying and grinding. Chickpea peeling machine can automatically complete peeling & separating process, all you need do is to pour wet chickpea into machine’s feed inlet. Similarly, chickpea peeling machine has two capacities of 150kg/h and 200kg/h for customers to choose.
2 Frying, grinding steps
Peeled chickpea can be further processing by frying, grinding steps, etc.
(1)Frying
Before frying, the wet chickpea needs to be watered, a centrifugal dehydrator can complete dehydrating automatically. Then, chickpea will be poured into frying machine which adopts oil-water mixture technology, the waste residue will be sunk with water while chickpea gets fried in the upper.
(2)Grinding
The peeled chickpea can also be ground by grinding machine. The powder reduces transportation space and makes chickpea’s nutrition easier to absorb.
Chickpea’s frying and grinding are an example of various further processing methods, you can choose the ways you like to further process chickpea products.
IV. Processed Chickpea Trading Market
Generally speaking, chickpea processing markets can be divided by chickpea varieties. Chickpea mainly has desi type and Kabuli type.
1 Desi type market
(1)India
India is the largest chickpea producer and consumer in global. Its annual production is around 8.5 million MT annually which takes up around 60%-70% of the chickpea’s global production. And the commonly consumed one in India is desi type. In India, the desi type chickpea can be normally processed by shelling, peeling, splitting and cooking in stews, dhal. Another popular chickpea processing is by grinding into chickpea flour, besan.
Import: Indian like chickpea so much that its domestic consumption is up to 6 million MT annually. So India’ production can’t totally satisfy its domestic need, this country still imports a part of chickpea from abroad every year. For example, India imports 1.112 million MT of chickpea from abroad in 2015.
Export: India’s cultivated chickpeas are largely consumed by domestic demand, so only a small number of chickpeas will be exported abroad. In India, chickpeas mainly export to the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.
(2)Australia
Australia is the second largest chickpea producing country after India. However, Australia is the world’s largest desi chickpea exporter, which more than 90% of Australia’s desi chickpea is exported abroad with an exporting value of around 351 million USD. Its mainly exporting destinations are Asia, Europe, and North America. With a large export amount, Australia has invested significant capital in processing machines to have the ability to complete large exporting amount and meet global standards. Similarly, Our chickpea processing machines are also manufactured under international standards and can satisfy large processed amount.
Price: In recent years, Australian chickpea price has risen, the reason can be various such as a reduction of production in India which impulses Australia chickpea trading market and increases prices.
2. Kabuli type market
In the world, about 20% of chickpea are cultivated in Kabuli type. Kabuli chickpea is often consumed in Europe, Africa, and the Mediterranean.
In the trading market, Kabuli chickpea is traded in optimized quality such as a creamy, round standard.
Export: Different from desi type, which mainly exports to India, Pakistan. Kabulis are mainly exported to lots of smaller market destinations as its demand is limited.
