Every chickpea contract stands or falls on one number: the caliber. A 9 mm kabuli destined for a Gulf retail shelf and a 7 mm kabuli heading into a hummus line are, commercially, different products with different prices, cook profiles and customers. As a chickpeas supplier in Egypt, PEIVANA quotes every enquiry against a stated millimetre caliber — and this guide explains exactly what those numbers mean so you can specify with confidence.
Egyptian kabuli chickpeas are cream-beige, ram-head shaped and thin-skinned, cleaned and size-graded on rotary screens before optical sorting. Below you’ll find the full 7–9 mm caliber table, packing formats from 25 kg PP bags to retail cartons, QC checkpoints and how chickpeas slot into a mixed legumes container. Baseline specs are on the chickpeas product page.
Types and Grades
Kabuli is the Egyptian export standard: large, light-coloured seed with a smooth coat — the type this guide covers. (Desi, the small dark type, is a minor item here and mostly sourced from the subcontinent.)
Grade 1 / premium: purity 99%+, uniform cream colour, max 1–2% broken and split, optically sorted to remove dark, green and shrivelled seed.
Grade 2 / processing: purity 98%+, up to 3–4% broken/split and slight colour mix — perfectly serviceable for hummus, flour and canning where appearance of the whole seed doesn’t matter.
Sizes & Calibers
| Caliber | Screen size | Approx. count / 100 g | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 mm | 9 mm+ | ~28–32 | Premium retail packs, Gulf & EU shelf |
| 8 mm | 8–9 mm | ~32–38 | Retail and wholesale all-rounder |
| 7 mm | 7–8 mm | ~38–45 | Hummus, canning, flour, falafel |
| 6 mm (run of crop) | <7 mm | 45+ | Milling, animal-adjacent uses |
Rule of thumb: the larger the caliber, the higher the price and the slower the stock moves — 8 mm is the liquidity sweet spot. For hummus and canning, paying up for 9 mm is wasted money: 7 mm cooks down identically and blends smoother. For whole-seed presentation (salad bars, retail jars, roasted snacks), 8–9 mm earns its premium.
Packing Formats
| Format | Net weight | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PP woven bag | 25 kg | Export standard, printed or neutral |
| PP woven bag | 50 kg | Wholesale programmes |
| Poly bags in carton | 10 × 1 kg | Retail, private label |
| Big bag | 1,000 kg | Industrial processors |
Container maths: ~24–25 t per 20′ in bags. Moisture max 12–13%, fumigated before loading, kraft-lined container walls for condensation control on winter voyages.
Season
Egyptian chickpeas are a winter crop harvested April–June; new-crop offers open in May. Cleaned, graded stock then ships year-round from conditioned storage. The Egyptian produce seasons calendar shows how the pulse harvest dovetails with the fresh-produce calendar for buyers combining categories.
QC Checkpoints Buyers Should Ask For
- Screen certificate — % on-screen for the declared caliber (e.g. min 95% retained on 8 mm); this is the spec that prevents “8 mm” bags full of 7 mm seed.
- Cook test — soak 12 h, boil to tenderness; uniform hydration with <5% hard seeds (stone seed) — critical for canners.
- Colour sort report — dark/green seed below 0.5% for premium grade.
- Moisture & infestation — max 13% moisture, zero live insects, phosphine fumigation certificate.
- Foreign matter — max 0.5%; metal detection at bagging; sealed pre-shipment sample on first orders.
Mixed-Container Fit
Chickpeas are a cornerstone of the mixed legumes container from Egypt: a typical 20′ build is 8 t chickpeas 8 mm + 8 t red split lentils + 8 t white beans — three products, one bill of lading, one inspection. For how PEIVANA structures multi-product loads across the whole catalogue, see the mixed produce containers guide.
FAQ
Which caliber should a hummus manufacturer buy?
7 mm (or 7–8 mm) Grade 2 — same flavour and blend texture as larger seed at a meaningfully lower cost per tonne. Reserve 9 mm budget for whole-seed lines.
How do I verify the caliber I paid for?
Demand a screen-retention certificate per lot (min % on declared screen) and a sealed pre-shipment sample. On arrival, a hand sieve check of 3–5 bags per lot settles any question.
What shelf life do dried chickpeas have?
24 months in dry storage (<15 °C, <65% RH ideal). Cook time lengthens slowly with age, so canners typically buy within 12 months of harvest.
Request a Quotation
Send caliber, grade, packing and destination — we respond with a firm offer, usually the same day. Use the contact form or WhatsApp.