Edible Bean Production Rebound in 2012

VANCOUVER - Feb 9/12 - SNS -- Dry edible bean production across North America has been devastated by poor weather in Canada, the United States and Mexico. While Mexico has struggled with drought, its northern neighbors were unable to finish seeding last year's crops because of an unusually wet spring.

Production in Canada and the United States is down almost 652,000 metric tons (MT) from last year at a combined total of 1.044 million MT, while Mexico's crop is expected to fall 377,000 MT to just 600,000 this season.

With output expected to fall over a million MT throughout the North American continent, this is both largest year over year change in the size of the dry edible bean harvest; and the first time in over 20 years that dry edible bean output in the region will drop under two million MT.

Not surprisingly, this has created a "made in North America" market for dry edible beans, with regional prices holding a stiff premium to world trading levels. Though the North American region is expected to import more product from other parts of the world in 2011-12, the quantities will have a greater tendency to moderate price gains than to force prices sharply lower.