Pulse weekly outlook: Fewer edible bean acres to underpin prices

MarketsFarm — Edible bean area is unlikely to live up to expectations in some key North American growing areas this year, as insurance deadlines pass.

However, the excessive moisture that caused seeding delays in Manitoba and North Dakota should help the yield prospects for what did go in the ground in the region.

Projections for seeding intentions in both Canada and the U.S. were already calling for a reduction in dry bean area before the seeding season began. Total U.S. bean acres were forecast to be down by six per cent on the year at 1.31 million acres by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Canada’s intended edible bean area for 2022 was estimated at 337,400 acres by Statistics Canada, which would be down by 23 per cent on the year.

Only 72 per cent of North Dakota’s intended edible bean acres were seeded as of Sunday, which compares with the 97 per cent average for the second week of June, according to the latest crop progress report. North Dakota accounts for roughly half of the entire edible bean crop in the U.S. Seeding in Manitoba, where about a third of Canada’s edible beans are grown, has also faced delays.

“In general acres are off in both the U.S. and Canada,” said Scott Cottenden, food products manager with The Andersons Canada at Blenheim, Ont. He estimated planted area would be down by about 25 per cent across North America.

Ontario and Michigan to the east saw relatively normal seeding conditions, with a longer frost-free season in those regions lessening the importance of the planting date.

To the west, Cottenden said the later seeding was not necessarily terrible but also not ideal due to the possibility of a fall frost.

Now the bean market will be watching the weather through the growing season.

In Manitoba and North Dakota “we’re starting off with much better (moisture) reserves, which is positive,” said Cottenden, adding “is it too much in some cases? Perhaps.”

From a pricing standpoint, spot bids for all classes of edible beans are up from where they were a year ago, as the market competes with other crops.

While demand remains to be seen, Cottenden expected the smaller acreage base would be supportive for prices going forward. “The discussion right now is on the production side, and we’ll worry about the demand side later on.”

Navy beans and pinto beans in North Dakota were both trading at 44 U.S. cents per pound as of June 7, up 10-11 cents from the same point a year ago, according to a report from USDA. Black beans, at 45-46 U.S. cents per hundredweight, are up five to six cents on the year.

In Manitoba, spot bids for navy beans currently top out at 53.5 cents/lb., according to Prairie Ag Hotwire data, with pintos and blacks at 57.5 and 63 cents respectively. The top-end prices are up by anywhere from eight to 18 cents on the year.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.