Other Competitor Market Snapshots
April 20, 2018In addition to keeping an eye on Argentina and India, we provide a brief assessment of other competitor markets.
China
The table below shows Chinese dry bean exports to the world and countries in South and Central America & the Caribbean for the past four U.S. dry bean marketing years and for the first six months of marketing years 2017 and 2018. With a larger black bean crop and better quality beans
available, China was able to export twice as many beans to Costa Rica in the first half of this marketing year compared to the same period last year. However, we note an overall downward trend for Chinese dry bean exports including some U.S. export destinations in the Americas and some emerging markets for the U.S., like Brazil. Many things are in flux in the Chinese bean market this year, we will have a China prospective plantings report out
next month.
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the major dry bean exporter in Central America. In the first five months of this marketing year (September 2017 through January 2018), Nicaragua exported 25,330 MT of dry beans, up 12% over the same period the previous Marketing Year. The top five destinations have been Costa Rica (11,083 MT), El Salvador (6,038 MT), the United States (4,913 MT), the Dominican Republic (1,154 MT) and Honduras (868 MT). Most of Nicaragua’s dry bean production is red beans (85%) and the remainder (15%) is black beans. Due to rains and cool temperatures in recent weeks, there is concern about the quality of this year’s crop.
Overall the news on the global trade front is positive for the U.S. dry bean industry with exports to all destinations at 225,650 MT in the first five months of marketing year 2017/18 (September-January), up nearly 21% compared to the same period in 2016/17. Details on all markets are provided in market reports on our website.
