(Resource News International) — Cash bids for edible beans in Manitoba have generally held steady if not firmed a bit over the past few weeks as demand remains constant.
“Supply shortages in the U.S. has helped to keep the market for edibles firm,” said Frank Reimer of Global Grain Canada Ltd. at Plum Coulee, Man., east of Winkler.
He acknowledged that some of the support in the market had also been associated with delays in the edible bean harvest in Manitoba due to excessively wet conditions.
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However, producers in the province have just about got the crop off the fields, with only maybe a few isolated areas left.
“But, if the weather holds like it has for the past few days, the remainder of the crop will be in the bin within a day or two,” he said.
The ability to get the crop off without any major hitches, and talk of better-than-expected yields, meanwhile, has helped to take some of the upward edge temporarily off the market, Reimer said.
“We are definitely looking at a larger crop than what we thought we would be,” he said, “but due to the demand factor, the carryover will be limited.”
Producers will have to move the edible beans through the dryers before being able to ship them out, he said, but once that’s done, there should be little problem in moving them.
Demand in the U.S. for black beans, navys and pintos has been strong, he said, with 90 per cent of Canada’s crop likely to be shipped south of the border during 2009-10.
He also pointed out that with some of the extra production, shipments to Africa and Europe were also a real possibility.
Some of Canada’s edible beans have made their way to Mexico as well, but larger domestic production there of pintos will limit the need to bring in Canadian supplies, Reimer said.
Cash bids for navy beans delivered to the elevator in Manitoba, based on data from Prairie Ag Hotwire, currently range from 27 to 28.5 cents a pound, for pintos 24 to 26 cents and for black beans 27,5 to 29.3 cents.
