Argentine bean producers, such as White/Black beans, chickpeas and peas, generally closed a good season, although frost has affected some of the crops. Around 300,000 tons of beans are produced -in their different varieties- about 130,000 tons of chickpeas, another 100,000 of peas and between 40,000 and 50,000 lentils , which are consumed in the domestic market.
In the case of beans and chickpeas, which 95% of the harvest is exported, farmers are very concerned about the impact of the tax increase (the Government brought them to 9%) in Argentine crops. This tax increase implies a very important loss of competitiveness, because the Argentine producers compete against countries that do not penalize exports and even subsidize them in some cases. The most serious consequence here is that it could discourage the planting of pulses in the next campaign.
In the case of chickpeas the scenario is complex because international prices have fallen in recent years. And it competes with strong countries, such as the United States, China, Canada, Turkey and Russia. Prices are low because last season was very good globally and stocks are high. In the case of black and white beans, Argentina is one of the leading export countries.
In this campaign, pea yields fell, due to the drought, to around 2,000 kilos per hectare. Lentil production is mainly concentrated in the south of Santa Fe and in the north of Buenos Aires. The production of legumes from Salta is the largest in Argentina, with an annual harvest that ranges between 150,000 and 200,000 tons, with an area assigned to these crops of just over 197 thousand hectares.
The pea, which is mainly planted in the south of Santa Fe and the north of Buenos Aires -where this campaign suffered from drought with yields of 2,000 kilos per hectare.
An interesting possibility on the horizon for Argentina is the opening of the Chinese market. After eight years of negotiations with the Chinese authorities, the deal is almost finished and minimal details are missing. China is the world’s second largest importer of yellow peas and being able to export to this market is a great opportunity.
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