World Bean Markets Hold Firm

VANCOUVER - Aug 24/07 - SNS -- International dry edible beans maintained their firm tone throughout the past week, especially for medium and large caliber white beans and minor classes of colored beans.

North America's spot market index for dry edible beans finished the week at 1018, down five points from the previous week; while the grower index finished up one point at 876.

Widening spreads between grower bids and values obtained on inter-dealer and export markets is a feature of both Canadian and U.S. markets -- with growers in parts of western Canada wondering if local markets are functioning correctly.

In some cases, grower bids are so heavily discounted to current export and inter-dealer trading values that processors are making a clear statement that they are not interested in buying from growers, unless the grower is desperate to turn beans into cash.

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