A chickpea shortage means hummus prices are set to rise

Brits have been on high alert since the news broke in the UK. But don't panic, we've got plenty of chickpeas still in Australia.

We Aussies are still in ample supply but our friends in Britain are feeling the shortage the worst. Source: Getty

British hummus fanatics have been on high alert this week since news of an impending chickpea shortage broke.

This is not a drill: Chickpeas are simultaneously in high demand and short supply across the world, a fact that does not bode well for one of our all-time favourite dip spreads. This is probably what the end of the world looks like.

Since this devastating moment in April last year, hummus has appeared on British supermarket shelves at a price that’s increased by about a third. Data from consumer trends magazine The Grocer show a 310g pot now costs £1.47 (AU$2.61) on average, up 33p on last year.

Stephen Fry is devastated:

And he’s not alone.

Won't someone please think of the vegans?

But in desperate times, Twitter users are showing their resourcefulness.

While the Internet combusts, Australians will be chuffed to discover we can rest relatively easily. Our farmers produce around 600,000 tons of chickpeas each year of which we only export 10,000 tons to the UK. 

“We’re really fortunate in Australia,” Brett Hosking, vice president of the Victorian Farmers Federation, tells the ABC.

“Farmers for most of our commodities produce more than we consume here in Australia. We’ve got a big landmass, lots of beautiful farming land and lots of really skilled farmers, but we don’t have as big of a population as a lot of these countries. We’ve got a surplus of chickpeas.”

Sorry, England, but you can’t have them.

So, the answer is no – you probably don’t need to spend your life savings on a hummus stockpile.

Nevertheless, if these worrying global trends continue, we all might have to revert to beetroot dip (still delicious, but – let’s be honest here – inferior to hummus), or perhaps even roasted capsicum dip for our mezze platters. BRB, crying. 

If all else fails, you can always scroll through this Instagram account: Hot Dudes and Hummus, and remember the good old days.

 

Lead image from Flickr (stu_spivack).