BEANS, plenty of beans

Submitted by Daddy-YO on 8 May, 2008 - 16:46.

Today's El Nuevo Diario states that Nicaragua has exported more than 3,000 tons of beans to Venezuela since the end of 2007, meanwhile the UN's FAO and NGOs warn of the risk of hunger & malnutrition for more than 1.5 million Nicaraguans.

This month 540 tons of quality beans and 1,300 dairy heifers were sent to Caracas. The totals planned to be sent there in 2008 are 2,500 tons of beans and 6,000 dairy heifers.

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Clarification: Venezuela gets Nica's black beans

Submitted by Daddy-YO on 9 May, 2008 - 13:17.

Ariel Bucardo, head of MAGFOR (www.magfor.gov.ni), declared in Feb this year that it's black beans that are exported to Venezuela, which doesn't put national consumption at risk, because Nicas don't eat black beans. Nicas eat red beans. (My Nica wife doesn't like the taste of black beans, which was all Costa Rican restaurants served when we visited. I can't taste the difference, duh. Strangely, in Panama nobody served or offered us beans. She didn't like Panama & CR too much.) So why didn't El Nuevo Diario or its writer José Adán pick up on that in yesterday's news? Politics?

The price of the red beans in the market is now C$15-16/lb. In the end of 2007 it was around C$10/lb. The price jumped to C$13 in Feb/Mar of this year. So why are prices on red beans still climbing? Is it lack of storage space as the guru suggests below? This is unlikely. Arlington writes (below) of "dozen of (empty?) silos on the fringe of Granada," I am aware of several silos on a facility outside of León toward Chinandega that has been up for sale for a while. And the government would not hesitate to seize them, if necessary (as they did with Esso's storage tanks in Corinto).

MAGFOR states in their April 2005 report that 75% of the beans Nicaragua produces are red beans, and "in great measure" are consumed here. "However in recent years, especially since 2004 there has been a marked tendency toward exportation to countries in the area, like CR & El Salvador, a situation that has lead to a notable reduction in what the local market offers that includes provoking scarcity." I would not be surprised to learn that increased demand for red beans in CR is due to ex-pat Nicas earning a living wage there, eating red beans and thereby, driving up the price. Some may in fact be speculators.

those silos were for palm oil but . . .

Submitted by arlington on 9 May, 2008 - 13:35.

those silos were for palm oil but . . . I think they may be a property where the owner is no longer in Nicaragua or there is a question of title. just a thought. no one here seems to know for sure.

Price, not shortage

Submitted by fyl on 8 May, 2008 - 17:02.

A trip to the public market here will show that there are lots of beans to be sold. That's a non-issue. The issue is at what price. Even four years ago the retail price varied from C$4 to C$7/lb. during a single year.

The problem here is lack of storage capacity. Thus, when all the beans hit the market (two crops per year) the price drops. It then heads back up. Unless more storage capacity is built, the only choice is to export at peak times.

this is the situation in Granada as well

Submitted by arlington on 8 May, 2008 - 17:19.

there's no shortage of variety on offer, it's a question of cash in the family budget. There's a facility on the fringe of Granada that, so far as I can tell was a palm oil processing plant. How far back that goes, no one can tell me. It doesn't appear to be for sale but, there are literally dozens of silos that I imagine have to be empty. Wish I had a million dollars.