Canada Bean Outlook

Agriculture Canada is projecting a big drop in Canadian edible bean area in 2013, but a Manitoba industry official contends growers in that province ought not to dismiss the crop just yet.
 
Although prices are down heading into the 2013-14 crop year, Ivan Sabourin, senior bean merchandiser for Legumex-Walker Inc., said dry beans remain a viable alternative to canola or soybeans,
 
“Everything this year is pretty close on whether to plant edible beans, canola or soybeans," he said. “I don’t think there is any clarity on which of those crops is more attractive to plant at this stage."
 
Sabourin also noted that Manitoba crop insurance coverage for the 2013 growing season appears quite favorable for dry beans – even better than it does for soybeans.
 
In its first supply-demand projections for the 2013-14 crop year, Ag Canada pegged nationwide dry bean area at about 210,000 acres, down about 32% from 309,000 in 2011.
 
Edible bean prospects in Manitoba will also be dependent on what is grown in the U.S., Sabourin said. Based on reports, edible bean seed sales in the U.S. have been slow, although that may be because farmers are still waiting to see what kind of insurance programs the American government unveils for dry beans, he said.
 
In an earlier interview, provincial pulse specialist Dennis Lange said the increasing popularity of soybeans in Manitoba is making it tougher and tougher for dry beans to compete in that province, even though quality and yields have generally been good the past couple of years.