Mexican Bean Output Seen Rising

VANCOUVER - Mar 20/08 - SNS -- The U.S. agricultural attache for Mexico is optimistic dry edible bean production in that country will expand at least 100,000 metric tons (MT) in 2008-09 to a forecast 1.2 million because of greater harvested area with the assumption of more favorable weather conditions.

Mexico's 2007-08 crop was hurt by dry conditions. In Zacatecas, for example, preliminary official estimates indicate that the 2007-spring/summer crop (250,000 MT) declined by roughly 40% compared to the same crop a year earlier, the U.S. agricultural attache said. At least part of this decline is attributable to the 100,000 hectares of dry bean production land damaged by the uncharacteristically dry weather. The total damaged area for the 2006-spring/summer crop in Zacatecas was 9,521 hectares.

Land in beans was also pressured lower by the Mexican government's conversion program, which works to move less productive hectares into forage crops as well as malting barley. In Zacatecas, for example, growers planted 561,570 hectares of dry beans in the 2007 spring/summer crop cycle, which is seven% lower than the same cycle a year ago or approximately 41,000 hectares.