Dry bean markets in the USA and beyond/
10 questions with Pierfrancesco Sportelli

What's your day-to-day been like the past couple of weeks?

• Over the past few weeks, we’ve mostly been waiting to see what Mother Nature brings. It's a sit-back-and-watch scenario, hoping the growing season goes as planned, but that rarely happens! 

• For example, we're about two weeks behind in most of the growing states. What can you do? You just keep watching the weather and hope for a good harvest.

• Harvest is still underway with about 70% harvested across most regions. The forecast for the next 10 days is above normal temperatures and very little precipitation so I expect we’ll see steady progress in most areas, while the areas that got excess rains last week will welcome this forecast to dry out and try to get back into harvest in saturated fields. 

• It’s tough to project what the crop will look like, but from what we've seen so far, yields are varying. Some fields, impacted by early weather conditions, are bringing in lower-than-average yields, while others are slightly above average. Overall, it looks like an average year in terms of yields.

How much will the acreage increase boost average yields?

• It really depends on the bean class. For pintos and blacks, there's a decent-sized acreage increase this year, reportedly over 40%. But for other classes, like navies, acreage is down for the third year in a row. If we only get an average crop, navy supply could be tight.

What about kidney beans?

• For kidney beans, dark red acres are up, and light reds should be about even. However, we’re entering this crop with zero carryover on most bean varieties. So even if dark reds are up 30% from last year, that doesn’t make much of a difference when there’s such a strong demand. The situation feels tighter because of that.

How’s demand shaping up?

• Our regular customers are both domestic and European, but we’ve also seen strong demand from Central and South America. There’s definitely more demand for dark reds than we can supply, which is a good problem to have. 

• China is expected to have a decent crop this year although I heard the quality might not be great. That could help cover some of what Argentina won’t be able to supply, along with the U.S. and Canada. At the end of the day, we’ll just have to work with what we’ve got and keep our customers happy.

How has the tariff situation impacted your European customers?

• Europe has always been a great partner for us, but the tariffs that were imposed a few years ago really put a stop to a lot of dry bean trade. Some customers were willing to pay the 25% tariff to maintain U.S. quality, while others had to turn to Canada or other origins. 

• Since the tariffs were put on hold, we’ve seen many European customers return. However, it’s been challenging to regain some of the business that was lost to other suppliers during that time.

Are customers coming to you with new sustainability demands, especially from Europe?

• Yes, we’re definitely seeing more sustainability demands, not just from Europe but also from Central and South America. It's great to see the world trying to address sustainability, and we expect this trend to continue. Many companies are already making efforts to ensure they can sustainably feed the world.

Can you talk about the white bean market?

• The U.S. market, especially for white beans, is under a lot of pressure. We’re seeing high demand from Europe and other origins, trying to cover what Argentina can’t provide in alubias. 

• The closest substitute in the U.S. is the Great Northern, which has seen growing demand as a replacement. Acres for Great Northerns are up from last year, with Nebraska leading production. Nebraska experienced a severe weather event right after seeding, wiping out about 10% of the crop. Some were replanted, but many weren’t. 

• Pricing for Great Northerns has gone up, and I see no reason for it to soften given the limited carryover and high demand.

• Navies have been down for three years in a row. Farmers have had other, more lucrative options, and they’ve moved away from growing navies. So, it’s going to be tight.

Do dry bean growers react to high prices like lentil and pea growers, or are they more cautious?

• They react similarly. For example, strong pricing in black and pinto beans led some farmers to switch from growing navies to those classes. Beans do require more inputs, but we’re seeing growers respond to pricing just like they do with other commodities.

What’s happening with black and pinto beans in relation to Mexico?

• Mexico is expected to have a decent crop this year, though anything can change in the next few weeks. However, I believe Mexico will still be an importer this year, though not as much as last year when we saw record exports to them. Despite a decent crop, I think they’ll continue to purchase U.S. beans, but at a slower rate.

What’s next for Kelley Bean? Anything to celebrate?

• We’re about to celebrate Kelley Bean’s 100th anniversary, which is an amazing milestone. The company has grown to become one of the world’s largest handlers, originators, processors, and marketers of dry edible beans.

• What’s remarkable is that despite this growth, we’ve maintained strong connections with our customers, many of whom feel like part of the family. Kelley Bean is a family and employee-owned company, and that sense of community really shines through in our relationships with customers.