Sigurdson’s trade mission focussed on maintaining existing relationships and pursuing new investment opportunities in the agri-food sector.

WHY IT MATTERS: China is Alberta’s second-largest agri-food export market after the United States, and Alberta is the second largest provincial agri-food exporter to China after Saskatchewan.

In 2025, Alberta’s exports to China were valued at almost $9.6 billion, with agri-food exports totalling $1.4 billion.

Last year, Alberta’s top agri-food exports to China include $431 million of canola seed, $347 million of wheat, $209 million of barley and $123 million of canola oil.

China is the world’s largest oilseed importer, and imports more than half of Canada’s exported canola seed.

The mission positioned Alberta as a reliable supporter of high-quality agricultural and agri-food products and created opportunities for producers and processors across the province.

In a press release, Sigurdson said strengthening trade ties is critical as Alberta looks to expand its reputation in international markets.

The government is working to strengthen Alberta’s reputation as a trusted trading partner and consistent supplier of high-quality ag products for consumers around the world, he said.

Minister’s agenda

In China, the minister attended the China International Consumer Products Expo, a major trade show focussed on high-end consumer goods. The show is seen as a gateway for companies entering the Chinese market.

He also represented Alberta at the Country of Honour reception, where Canada was featured as the country of honour. Sigurdson’s mission included promotional events and a cooking demonstration highlighting Alberta’s beef, liquor and beer industries.

Sigurdson travelled to Haikou, China, from April 10-11, and attended the China International Consumer Products Expo from April 12-13. On April 14, Sigurdson was in Beijing for an investment roundtable meeting. He met with Chinese agricultural importers and industry associations and attended a promotion beef event on April 15, before heading back to Alberta on April 16.

Alberta-China Advisory Committee

Alberta’s provincial government recently created the Alberta-China Advisory Committee, an advisory body that offers Alberta’s government insights and perspective to help inform Alberta’s engagement in China.

Alberta can attract investment in China to grow industries in the province as well as improve market access for Alberta’s agricultural products. Alberta can also be established as a reliable energy supplier to meet China’s growing demands.

The newly launched Alberta-China Advisory Committee supports the Alberta government’s goal to expand its trade and investment ties with jurisdictions around the world. It is in alignment with the federal government’s efforts to advance shared objectives under the Canada-China partnership.

The new advisory committee, which will meet four times a year, will identify emerging opportunities in agriculture and energy sectors, improve and grow Alberta-China bilateral trade, investment attraction and areas of collaboration.

The group will provide advice on potential trade and investment attraction opportunities and identify key Chinese stakeholders in priority sectors. The committee will be able to offer insight into regional and cultural nuances and challenges.

The committee does not operate its own budget, and members are not remunerated or compensated, except for travel expenses. The committee’s secretarial support will be provided by the Ministry of Intergovernmental and International Relations.

The Alberta-China Advisory Committee may consist of 12 members, including one committee chair, and members selected based on their perspectives and knowledge drawn from expertise in business, academia, public policy and community leadership in Alberta, as well as knowledge about China.

The post Alberta agriculture minister returns from first China trade mission since 2018 appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Just when it looks like about the only thing to worry about is the weather, along comes some development, usually stemming from some sort of political screw up, and the best cropping or breeding plan is out the window.

Nortera closure blindsides southern Alberta growers

There have been a few of these blindsiding developments in the last 25 years that come to mind, with the most recent being the announced closure of the Nortera vegetable processing plant in Lethbridge, which takes effect in June. The plant, under various ownership, has been processing — canning and freezing — vegetables for more than 75 years.

In the grand scheme of things it might be considered a niche market issue, but for nearly two dozen southern Alberta producers, not to mention the 70 people who worked at plant, it is hugely important and a surprise kick in the collective butt. Everyone will land on their feet eventually, but in the short term it causes much stress and uncertainty.

It was only this past January, I worked on an article looking at how valuable this fresh vegetable market was to southern Alberta — everything was coming up sweet peas at that time. There didn’t appear to be any immediately threatening clouds in the sky, although Nortera did note it was important for Canadian producers to be competitive because in some cases it was cheaper to buy imported vegetables than those grown at home. It appears that caution came home to roost.

For more than a decade, Nortera had contracted nearly 7,000 acres from these farmers who produced about 4,500 acres of green peas and 2,400 acres of sweet corn, with a farm gate value of about $10 million.

So the decision in March to close the Lethbridge plant that supplied mostly frozen and packaged locally grown vegetables to major retailers across Canada was totally unexpected. Nortera is still processing vegetables in its other 10 plants across Canada, but the Lethbridge site is closing.

“I was really surprised, it was totally out of the blue,” says Kevin Wind who owns Windland Farms northeast of Taber.

For the past 10 years, Wind along with about 20-plus southern Alberta farmers who are members of the Alberta Vegetable Growers (Processing) Board, have been growing green peas and sweet corn under contract for Nortera. Wind is board chair.

“None of us saw this coming, there was no indication,” he says. “Plans for the 2026 growing season were made, now we’ll have to pivot and see about growing something different.”

Along with the green peas, Wind also produces potatoes, grass seed and durum.

“The green peas were the second best crop next to potatoes in terms of value on my farm,” he adds. “I like having contracted production, perhaps I can line up some more grass seed acres.

“We just have to accept the fact, you do your best, but a major change may be just one phone call away. … Companies look after their bottom line.”

Import inquiry may offer future protection

Subsequent to the Nortera plant closure, federal Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne has launched a 180-day safeguard inquiry into imports of certain canned and frozen vegetables. With a recent surge in low-priced imports into Canada, the Canadian Association of Vegetable Growers and Processors requested the inquiry.

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal investigation, scheduled for June 2026, will determine if imports of products like corn, beans, peas and chickpeas cause “serious injury” to domestic producers. The inquiry will determine if the surge in imports is causing or threatening to cause “serious injury” to Canadian processors and growers.

Not to second guess the outcome of the inquiry, but my money is on the answer being a very big “yes”.

That investigation won’t change anything for these southern Alberta growers but it may have some value in protecting Canada’s agriculture industry down the road.

A quarter-century of trade shocks

The Nortera story is just a clear example — if it ain’t one thing it’s another. I have great respect (and often sympathy) for Canadian farmers and ranchers who, over the past 25 years or so, have had to cope with, adapt, re-tool and “pivot” their operations when it comes to unexpected trade disruptions.

I think everyone remembers where they were on May 20, 2003, when a single case of BSE shut down the Canadian beef industry over night. The Canadian government and the beef industry dealt with that with great expediency, but the decade-long political fallout of Mad Cow Disease on markets lingered well beyond what science was saying.

The Canadian Wheat Board was dismantled in 2012. I know for a lot of producers it was a welcomed move, but also for many others it was very disruptive.

Then there was a Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) issue in the U.S. which threatened Canadian beef and pork exports in 2015. Pakistan refused to accept Canadian pulse crops in 2017 over a phytosanitary issue. There was a risk of ban on Canadian lentils to India in 2023, as the Canadian government made allegations against the Indian government — threatened, but the ban didn’t happen.

China placed a ban on Canadian beef, pork and canola during the Huawei/two Michaels fiasco in 2019. That lingered for three years. And then China imposed tariffs on Canadian canola seed and oil in 2025 because Canada imposed 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles. With a bit of perhaps unpopular diplomacy, that situation lightened up in March of 2026.

I can’t even figure out what impact the apparent sliding scale of on-again-off-again U.S. tariffs on Canadian products has had. If nothing else, it has caused tremendous uncertainty. And with a review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement being discussed, lord only knows how the dust will settle after that. And the war on Iran and its disruption of global energy and fuel supplies will and is having a major impact on the cost of producing all agriculture and food products and marketing. It just never ends.

I don’t know who wrote the original metaphor I’ve cited here, but it aptly describes the resiliency of producers. Hopefully farmers and ranchers have embraced the sentiment “We can’t change the wind, but we can adjust our sails.”

I’m sure it is an approach most have had to adopt over the years. Unfortunately, the message becomes more relevant each day.

The post From BSE to tariffs, Prairie farmers keep adjusting their sails appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

On April 1, profit-taking took May canola down C$13.30/tonne to close at C$718.50. However, it has still remained between C$710 to C$740 since March 24.

Phil Speiss from RBC Dominion Securities in Winnipeg said while canola prices have been in a bullish trend line over the past few months, fundamentals are leaning bearish due to large stocks and high acreage expectations this year.

• For daily market updates, visit the Western Producer Markets Desk

A canola contract closing below its 20-day average in two straight sessions is an indicator of a downturn, he added.

“That’s step one. Get a close below the trend line,” Speiss said. “If you can get (two closes below), well now you start talking maybe there’s a potential downside. You look at targets from previous days. On (March 23), we saw a low of C$708.70/tonne and (the week) before that, we saw C$700.60. Those would become targets on the downside.”

Canola prices are largely tied to crude oil and especially to Chicago soyoil, but Speiss said diesel and heating oil markets are also influencing the oilseed.

“(Heating oil) is the most firm out of the energy markets,” he said. “There is a connection there on the bio side of things … If you look at a heating oil chart, it’s going straight up. If you’re playing biofuel and you’re a speculator or large managed money and you see that play, you’re just feeding into that canola length.”

Canola crush margins are also remarkably strong with the May contract at C$333.64/tonne as of March 31, more than double from a year earlier (C$165.31). However, Speiss noted that margins are sure to come down soon.

“It’s parabolic,” he said. “We know the crush pace is the crush pace. We know that they’re full through summer. At some point, it’s just a number. From a futures perspective, we see crush demand getting pushed further and further out the curve: November, January 2027, March 2027 … (Crush margins) don’t play too much of a role anymore.”

As for where canola prices could go in the near future, Speiss said they’re as uncertain as the war itself.

“We’re so tied to the geopoliticals right now, it’s an impossibility,” he said. “If you want to bet on anything, the trend just stays intact until you break it.”

The post ICE Weekly: Trade waits for canola to break out appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The May canola contract closed at a high of C$739.90 per tonne on March 13 and then pulled back to C$702.60 on March 16. It recouped most of its losses the following day, but slipped to C$726.20 on March 18.

Tryhuk said canola prices are “weakly correlated” with those of crude oil, they follow soyoil prices more strongly. The May soyoil contract in Chicago reached 67.44 cents per pound on March 13, but dropped limit down on March 16. Soyoil regained most of its decline the next day, but eased back to 65.53 cents/lb. on March 18.

For daily market updates, visit the Western Producer Markets Desk

“(Soyoil) was really more influenced by Trump’s and China’s decision to push back on some of their anticipated meetings because of what’s happening in the Middle East,” he said. “Perhaps that selloff was a bit oversold. The meetings weren’t cancelled, just postponed.”

In addition to higher prices, Tryhuk thinks canola planting in 2026-27 is likely to exceed the 22-million-acre mark.

Statistics Canada projected 21.84 million acres of canola to be seeded this spring. However, data collection was completed before China’s reduced tariffs on Canadian canola exports and before the war started in the Middle East.

“If anybody had the potential for swing acres and they weren’t sure what to do, then without a doubt,” he said. “We were looking at prices in the lower end of the C$600 range leading up to the report collection and since then, (canola) swelled by over C$100. I’m sure this will inspire (more) acres and perhaps the seeded figure will come closer to what the trade estimated.”

Export demand underwhelming

Nevertheless, rising canola prices could also backfire. Export demand has not been as much as anticipated after China reduced its tariffs.

“Higher prices will put some demand out of reach … A lot of the activity we’re seeing is crusher demand but I don’t think we’re seeing a lot of export demand,” Tryhuk said. “The domestic crush industry is going to have to support the futures. As long as the crush margins remain as excellent as they are, we’re not going to be concerned about a collapse or erosion in values.”

He added that canola could see more demand outside Canada, depending on the United States 2026 and 2027 biofuel blends to be announced later this month. Meanwhile, the canola crush was 11.5 million tonnes last year and is on pace to match that this year. This could mean Canada’s canola crush capacity may have reached its upper limit.

As crude oil prices stay elevated, canola is likely to do so as well.

“I think it’s fair to say we’ve probably reached a new price band for canola and I wouldn’t expect us to return to the C$625 area this year,” Tryhuk said. “Yes, we’ll see a pullback in crude. Yes, we’ll see a similar pullback in canola … But the media is saying there won’t be a quick resolution to this conflict and as such canola should be supportive generally.”

The post ICE Weekly: Canola to stay elevated as war persists appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Chuck Penner, founder of LeftField Commodity Research, spoke at the 2026 Canadian Crops Convention about supply and demand in the Canadian grains sector and how a strong 2025 could lead to a complex 2026.

WHY IT MATTERS: Canadian farmers will soon be planting the 2026 crops, with large old crop supplies complicating the market outlook.

“We talk in ag markets always about cycles,” said Penner. “The market is cycling. And so right now, we’re in a supply-heavy situation. But is that going to continue? I would argue ‘no.’”

“What we have is this comfortable carryover,” he continued noting that can lead to a complacent mindset in grain markets.

Canada produced an aggregated 106 million tonnes of grains, oilseeds, pulses and other crops in 2025, 10 million more than the previous year.

“So, what are we doing with that grain?” Penner asked.

Farmer deliveries are already up three million tonnes over last year. Exports are at 25 million tonnes, up from the five-year average by around 2.5 million.

“That’s good, but it still doesn’t dispose of 10 million tonnes more production,” Penner said. “If we keep this pace up, and there are some really good signs that we will keep this pace up, then we will work that down to some degree.”

Despite what Penner referred to as a “heavy-supply mindset” hanging over the sector, prices are still moving, and he expects them to continue firming up.

Many crops see seasonal price peaks in the spring, but Penner cautioned that those commodities will start to tip over in early summer “and everybody’s going to freak out and talk about the heavy supplies again.”

One problem now is there is not much urgency in attracting acreage.

In tighter supply years, such as after the 2021 drought, buyers were desperate and some started contracting for 2022 new crop in October and November already. However, this year, the sentiment is “we’ll buy it when we need it,” said Penner.

Resolving heavy supply

For some major crops like barley, canola and soybeans, stocks-to-use ratios are wide, but Penner said those ratios will likely be a bit lower at the end of 2026-27.

“There’s a key reason for that,” he said. “What happens when we drop back to either average or to trend yields? It basically wipes out. It’s a far bigger influence on the supply situation for next year than acreage shifts.”

While acreage shifts are interesting, a return to average yields in Western Canada after the bumper crops of 2025-26 would “do a whole lot in terms of resolving the heavy supply situation that we have,” said Penner.

“If we move to an average yield or even a trend yield in those major crops, the supply numbers get close to the five-year average,” he said adding that supplies of oats, corn and soybeans may even become tight.

What to plant this year?

Penner said his recommendation for 2026 was to plant oats.

“If you all rush out and plant oats now, of course that effect is gone. But barley and durum supplies should remain comfortable. It’s the pulses and special crops that are going to take a couple of years to really resolve the heavy supply situation.”

Currently, he said global supplies will favour the buyer.

“2025-26 was a good year globally. No question,” he said. “The question is, can it repeat?”

Penner offered general market thoughts on crops for 2026.

Wheat

Wheat saw record global and Canadian production with prices remaining relatively flat. Penner pointed out wheat is almost never touched by trade disruptions or tariffs. Canada is also exporting durum almost at last year’s record pace, even with strong European and North African crops.

Barley

Barley had a record yield last year with the largest Canadian crop since 2020-21, and prices are rising. Penner said Canada has strong barley exports to countries like China, Japan and Saudi Arabia.

Oats

Penner said the main concern with oats is a weaker export pace. Other export markets like Australia and the U.S., which saw its biggest oat crop in over 10 years, could challenge Canada. He said he thought soft prices could discourage acreage in 2026 and leave Canada with “some really tight supplies of oats.”

Canola

Canola production and yields were strong globally, leading to increased supplies, but according to Penner, “the demand side is the bigger picture.” With the market more certain following U.S. biofuels and potential tariffs, prices have continued to rise. He added if canola drops back to average levels, supplies will tighten and demand will strengthen.

Peas

Peas also had near-record yields in Canada which, combined with a strong Russian crop, have led to a global glut. Though imports from India are not what they have been, Penner said other buyers like China have also stepped in. He said there is a sizable carryover into 2026, especially for green peas.

Lentils

Penner said demand is fairly static for green lentils but could be stronger for red lentils. On both fronts, he said it must get stronger to deal with supply, but it is “hard to see that happening.” He added there is a huge supply of green lentils now hanging over the market, but “the red picture will be more balanced.”

The post Strong 2025 could mean complications for Canadian grain sector in 2026 says analyst appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Terry Reilly, an independent analyst, said soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade is the commodity most closely following the lead of crude oil, with the latter almost touching US$120 per barrel earlier this week. The May soyoil contract closed at 67.16 U.S. cents per pound on March 11, up 3.57 cents or 5.6 per cent from the week before.

While corn, soybean and wheat prices won’t be as closely tied to crude oil as soyoil, Reilly said their movement will still be determined elsewhere.

“The outside markets will continue to drive the markets for at least until when the conflict starts to wind down,” he added. “Fertilizer is going to be heavily impacted and it will drive up the costs for farmers across the globe. It’s shifting some ideas and we could see less acres go into the ground this spring across North America.”

There was also speculation the United States Environmental Protection Agency may submit its 2026 renewal fuel standard later this week, which could increase the need for corn (ethanol) and soybeans (biodiesel). However, Reilly doesn’t anticipate any increased demand.

“Currently, the prices of some of the feed stocks like canola oil going to California or (used cooking oil) and tallow, their prices are at a discount to soybean oil,” he explained. “I don’t see any greater demand for alternative fuel sources, but no doubt we’ll probably be blending as much ethanol as we can.”

Reilly added he was surprised to see the U.S. Department of Agriculture trim projected soyoil use for biofuel by 800 million pounds at 14 billion in its monthly supply/demand estimates released on March 10. But there were little changes to projected U.S. corn, soybean and wheat stocks. While Reilly thought corn and soybean exports were “on the low side”, he believes the trade is more focused on new crop plantings.

“We still have several months to go until the end of the regular crop year,” Reilly said. “But either way, U.S. soybean stocks are expected to be pretty tight at the end of the season as China continues to buy U.S. beans.”

The war in Iran will continue to leave the trade guessing and keep prices higher, Reilly stated, adding that some analysts believe crude oil could surpass US$150/barrel. However, prices should stabilize once the war ends.

“I think after things start to cool down a little bit, I’d look for prices to get lower,” he said.

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“China stepped up and bought a lot of Canadian origin barley, which put the price up C$40 (per tonne) off the low for new crop,” Peterson said.

He reported feed barley bids at C$290/tonne delivered in Lethbridge for old crop and C$270 to C$275 for new crop. Feed wheat was trading at C$280 to C$285/tonne delivered.

Peterson said feedlots in southern Alberta are well-covered for grain.

“You have southern Alberta in relatively good shape right now for coverage. So you have two markets trading,” he added. “We’re poised to trade higher once we see some demand come back to the market in southern Alberta.”

Purchases of corn imported from the United States have quieted down as of late, said Peterson. But if there is continued demand for feed grains in the Canadian export market, he expects more corn to enter the markets due to its price parity with feed barley.

“If barley trends higher, you’re going to see feeders in the spring and summer switch to adding corn in their rations to limit the upside on barley,” Peterson explained.

As spring approaches, so does a potential weather market. Because of this, Peterson believes prices won’t be steady in the coming weeks.

“If we start getting some decent moisture, you’ll probably see some more grain liquidate off the farm,” he said. “Right now, we’re poised to continue to move higher or stay where we’re at. But we’re looking to go lower over the next three months.”

Prairie Ag Hotwire reported on Feb. 27 that delivered feed barley prices in Saskatchewan ranged from C$4.90 to C$5 per bushel, steady from the week before. The range in Alberta was from C$4.79 to C$6.05/bu., up seven cents from the past week. In Manitoba, it was C$4.60 to C$4.61/bu., down one cent.

For feed wheat, the price in Saskatchewan was C$7.00/bu., unchanged from the previous week. That in Manitoba was C$6.04/bu., up 10 cents. Values ranged from C$5.97 to C$7.76/bu. in Alberta, up five cents.

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David Derwin, a commodities investment advisor for Ventum Financial in Winnipeg, said higher crude and soyoil prices, as well as new Canadian canola exports to China, lifted the value of the oilseed.

“You see a bit of a chain effect. Crude oil goes up, then bean oil goes up and then canola too,” Derwin said. “Soyoil’s been a part (of these rallies) but other factors have helped, as well.”

He also said the funds have also flipped canola’s net position from short to long amidst speculation of the United States biofuel mandate for 2026.

Although canola prices ended mixed on Feb. 25, signaling a potential end to its rally, Derwin said canola previously broke through resistance levels when the oilseed was C$10 to C$20 per tonne lower. He believes there is still upside to go for canola.

“Those resistance levels are not set in stone and they can fluctuate,” he said. “(Canola) probably added C$80 per tonne since the beginning of the year. That’s a good move in a short period of time. It’s still pointing higher and over the course of the ride that we’ve seen since the beginning of the year, there will be periods of time where it gives back C$10 to C$15 and would still be in a shorter-term uptrend.”

China’s reduction of tariffs on Canadian canola last month were supportive of prices, as well as domestic demand. Derwin said an elevator sale of canola on Feb. 20 was “one of the largest in at least 10 years.”

“There certainly is buying by the grain companies and by end users. Demand has been fairly strong and some of it has been the China factor,” he added.

Another element that could affect canola prices will be Statistics Canada’s principal field crop area report on March 5. The report will be StatCan’s first to show estimated acreage numbers for the 2026-27 crop year. However, the figures were determined by a survey conducted before China reduced its tariffs on Canadian canola, and that could result in canola acres being underestimated.

“There’s always the potential for some kind of surprise or some interesting numbers to come from (the report). I would think as we go forward here, a lot of the same factors that have been helping (canola) trend higher will still be very much in place,” Derwin said.

The post ICE Weekly: Canola benefitting from supportive factors appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Scott Capinegro, hedging specialist for AgMarket.net, said May corn was approaching a February low but is setting itself up for a March rally. As for wheat, he said funds were short and technicals were conducive for rallies the past week.

Soybeans’ rise can be attributed to rallying soyoil, of which the May contract had a weekly gain of 1.58 cents per pound. But the White House is expected to announce its biodiesel fuel blend in the coming days.

“That one could end up being ‘buy the rumour, sell the fact,’” he said. “We’re racing to meet a self-imposed deadline by the end of March. We’ve already put that rally into the market.”

Exports also should be giving support to corn and soybeans, said Capinegro.

“The corn exports continue to be good, but the corn market does act sloppy. We are breaking to the lower end of the range (in March corn). As for soybeans, it’s China, China, China,” he said, adding that the U.S. is waiting for Lunar New Year celebrations to end before shipping more beans to China.

The United States Department of Agriculture will host its 2026 Agricultural Outlook Forum from Feb. 19 to 20 in Arlington, Va. Capinegro said many are expecting projected corn acres to be trimmed while those for soybeans are raised. However, one grain’s loss could benefit two major crops.

“Are they taking into consideration (the loss) of a lot of rice acres down south?” he said. “They’re going into corn and beans.”

The post CBOT Weekly: Choppy futures looking for direction appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

In Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s principal field crop estimates released last month, the projected dry bean carryout was 95,000 tonnes, compared to 40,000 the year before.

A grain marketer from southern Manitoba said he has seen pintos, black beans and navy beans have recently declined in price to the mid-30 cent per pound range. Meanwhile, kidney beans are in the low-60s.

Prairie Ag Hotwire reported a monthly drop of more than one cent and a yearly drop of more than 30 cents for navy and black beans at 27.5 and 26.5 cents delivered as of Feb. 10. Kidney beans saw the largest monthly increases at four cents for the dark variety and 7.2 cents for light, but yearly drops were down 22.8 and 9.5 cents, respectively, at 55.3 and 57 cents.

Solid pricing over the last five years resulted in additional acres for dry beans, said the marketer. However, this also resulted in additional stocks which eventually pressured prices.

“Last season, because the other commodities were less attractive, the edibles were in the 40s. That drew a large crop,” he said. “And then with all the precipitation in North Dakota, Mexico and Manitoba, they had decent crops and overproduction over the last two seasons.”

Nevertheless, demand remains strong for dry edible beans due to their relatively high protein content, but ending stocks will still be large. For 2026-27, AAFC estimated a carryout of 80,000 tonnes.

“Movement is strong, but there will still be a carryover. New crop is not that attractive in the mid-30s. But because edible beans are such a small crop, any weather trouble in North Dakota, Mexico, Michigan and Ontario, prices could spring back up.”

While 205,000 acres of edible beans were seeded in Manitoba last year, said the marketer, he expects between 130,000 to 140,000 acres this spring. AAFC projected 370,658 acres nationwide for 2026-27, down from 425,051 the previous year.

Nevertheless, the marketer said he thinks dry edible bean prices are at their low point and have plenty of upside in the coming months.

“It’s kind of the bottom of the market because we still have beans to move out of the province. I would think if we had a regular crop and there wasn’t any shortage, (these are the numbers) they would trade at,” he added.

Cranberry beans gained 5.8 cents over the past month, but lost 11.5 cents this year at 36 cents delivered. Great Northern beans dipped 0.3 cents over the past month while losing 23.3 cents this year at a price of 28.8 cents. Small red beans are at 47 cents delivered after a monthly increase of 2.3 cents and a yearly decrease of 23.5 cents.

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