The Economical Bargain, Uzbek Red Speckled Kidney Beans

The global demand for red speckled kidney beans is increasing. The legumes market, which includes red speckled kidney beans, was valued at 44.9 billion USD in 2017 and is expected to increase to 75.8 billion USD by 2025, with a CAGR of 6.77%. The increase in global demand for legumes and red speckled kidney beans can mainly be attributed to the increasing global trend for healthier eating such as gluten-free and vegan diet: red speckled kidney bean is an important source of fiber and protein and serves as a staple in many plant-based diets. Both the global gluten-free and vegan market is expected to grow by more than 5% annually over the next decade.

Although red speckled kidney beans look similar to other red beans such as adzuki beans or pinto beans, they are visually and texturally different. The main difference between kidney beans and pinto beans is its size and texture. Kidney beans have a denser texture whereas pinto beans have a more creamy texture. Kidney beans are also slightly bigger than pinto beans.

In 2018, Uzbekistan exported 5.6 million USD worth of red kidney beans. The country’s main export markets and respective shares were Iran 36%, Georgia 27%, and Azerbaijan 17%. To match the growing global demand for red kidney beans Uzbek farmers have been increasing harvest areas for kidney beans over the last 3-4 years. The harvest area for kidney beans increased from around 55K hectares in 2016 to 165,000 hectares in 2018. Similarly, the nationwide production of kidney beans is expected to increase by around 36% to 75K metric tons in 2019 from 55K metric tons in 2018. Besides the increased harvest area, favorable weather conditions this season also attributed to the increase in production. The nationwide export of kidney beans is also expected to increase in 2019, by around 15% to 55K metric tons.

One of the Uzbek kidney bean exporters benefiting from the growing global demand and favorable weather conditions is Legumes. Its main target markets are India, Iran, Vietnam, Afganistan, and European countries such as Bulgaria and the Netherlands. The company’s export of kidney beans is expected to increase by around 5% this year due to increased demand. Uzbek red speckled kidney beans compete in these global markets not only with their premium quality but also with their economical price. According to Anvar Khan, the managing director of Legumes, Uzbek kidney beans are priced similarly to kidney beans from African countries and Argentina but have superior quality. Compared to kidney beans from Africa and Argentina, Uzbek kidney beans have higher purity and lower moisture, which are two of the main determinants of bean quality. The purity of Legumes’ red speckled kidney bean is over 98% and the moisture is less than 11%, which easily meets the 15% maximum moisture requirement of the European market. The price of the company’s red speckled kidney bean in 2018 was between 700 to 800 USD per metric ton and the price is expected to remain at a similar level throughout 2019. The current FOB price of kidney beans is around 750 USD per metric ton.