GLOBAL BUYERS ENJOY A PRODUCTIVE WEEK IN U.S. DRY BEAN COUNTRY
October 7, 2022
USDBC Trade Team Participants in the bean field of Dan and Rebecca Fitts
After a two-year hiatus, our annual global reverse trade mission coinciding with the dry bean harvest, resumed from September 18 – 24, 2022. The 2022 mission included twelve participants from Asia, Latin America, and the UK. Many of the buyers were from relatively new and from emerging markets, including Chile, Peru, El Salvador, and China. Based on feedback from previous missions and in an attempt to streamline travel logistics, this year’s mission focused on one dry bean growing region instead of the three normally visited and concentrated in Denver and the Nebraska Panhandle. The format for this year’s mission included a comprehensive program with U.S. exporters in Denver with both virtual and in-person content covering buyer and U.S. exporter introductions; crop briefings from Michigan, North Dakota/Minnesota, California, Colorado, and Nebraska, as well as an overall summary of the worldwide supply and demand situation. Dr. Henry Thompson, from Colorado State University, also briefed participants on the latest health findings related to beans and provided recommendations for promoting these benefits. Nine U.S. exporters/processors traveled to Denver to meet with the twelve buyers one-on-one in the afternoon.
The buyers subsequently traveled to Nebraska to see dry bean harvest and bean processing facilities. These visits included the farm of Dan and Rebecca Fitts, Northern Feed and Bean’s processing facilities, New Alliance, Jelinek Custom Cleaning, and Kelley Bean. The group also visited the Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center and received briefings on the Wyoming-Nebraska Irrigation Canal System, and the Nebraska Dry Bean Breeding Program. During the visit to Nebraska, exporters were able to conduct one-on-one meetings with team participants and enjoy an industry dinner hosted by the Nebraska Bean Commission.
Post program evaluations by buyer participants were very positive, with almost all projecting significant new purchases as a result of the mission. Buyers reported meeting an average of three to four new suppliers and intentions to purchase dark red, navy, pinto, pink, cranberry, black, great northern, and garbanzo beans, and splits. All participants expressed “excellent” overall satisfaction with the trip. USDBC would like to express its thanks to the many U.S. industry speakers, sponsors, team hosts, meeting participants, and organizers who helped to make this year’s mission an outstanding success.