Volume VI | Issue VII | July 23, 2020
Lima Bean Curry
Bean Bulletin
First Ever Virtual Summer Meeting Hits the High Notes
USDBC wrapped up its annual summer meeting that should have taken place together with the US Dry Bean Convention in Nashville, TN but instead took place on Zoom. Participation was high and discussion was lively and productive as USDBC unveiled several plans for the coming months and year ahead capitalizing on the popularity of, and interest in dry beans. Some of the meeting highlights:

-Several MOUs will be signed in the coming months with global food and nutritional initiatives looking to collaborate on greater use of dry beans and bean ingredients for nutrition and well being in food insecure nations.
-Trade team delegates have been chosen for 2021 travel opportunities but things will be in flux for some opportunities until the dates get closer due to COVID concerns. We will be reaching out to delegates shortly.
-USDBC will look to engage in a new social media campaign and will work to develop an RFP.
-A DC Congressional fly in is planned for sometime in early spring 2021.
-A presentation from new partners in Innovation, CIA Consulting (Culinary Institute of America) reviewed the approach to begin the work of developing new bean ingredient formulations.
-Planning for the inaugural global dry bean buyers’ event, BeanCon21 is on track for March 2021, a back up plan should the event need to go virtual, is under review.

This has been an extremely busy and exciting time for USDBC and the dry bean industry. The summer meeting helped define priorities for the remainder of 2020 and outline several important new initiatives for 2021 and beyond.
USDBC listens to a presentation during virtual Board Meeting
USDB/CIA Consulting Partner For Bean Innovation
This month we kicked off a much anticipated and long awaited collaborative initiative with CIA Consulting, a business unit of The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) focused on innovative ways to utilize dry beans. While consumption of dry beans has been stable in the U.S.,
renewed interest in plant-forward eating and a desire for shelf-stable, healthy foods sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, have pushed beans into the spotlight both here and around the world. Dry beans are having a moment and we are now ready to move on to this new initiative that will explore in depth, all of the ways including bean ingredients in foods can add flavor, fiber, and nutrition. This initiative is a critical component of our goal to increase U.S. dry bean consumption in the U.S. and around the world.

Last week, USDBC’s board of directors heard from Brad Barnes, one of the principals on our collaborative initiative, a 45 year veteran of the culinary industry and the Director of CIA Consulting. Chef Barnes provided a situational outlook outlining the amazing qualities of dry beans such as; high in plant protein, easy to make delicious, good source of fiber. He also noted some challenges we face when moving into the realm of bean ingredients; hard to cook perfectly, inconsistent quality in supply, limited menu frequency. Barnes outlined the current bean market forms and products, discussed the importance of promoting bean functionality (ie texturizing agent, gluten free), and outlined three lanes of work ahead to develop the value chain. As Chef Barnes noted, “Dry beans have limitless potential to enhance the nutritional befits of the foods people eat every day, and our team looks forward to creating new and unexpected ways food product companies can use them. Stay tuned as this important project moves forward.
Chef Brad Barnes, CIA Consulting
New Global Dry Bean
Supply/Demand Reporting Available

USDBC is developing a new series of reports on global dry bean supply and demand. This information is being to developed to provide insight on global dry bean intentions and production to allow for improved global strategy response and inform important business decisions for our members. The reports will be developed for each major exportable bean type, with the first of the series focused on black beans released earlier this month. The black bean production outlook covers the harvest period in the main black bean producing countries taking into account that tropical and subtropical countries, such as Guatemala and Brazil, have three crops per year, while temperate countries have one crop per year and Mexico has two.
Additionally, the report looks at global exports from the main black bean producing countries.
This report is available on our members only website and by request. 
The next report in the series is expected in August.
USDBC Trade Servicing Update – Second Half 2020
Despite ongoing travel restrictions and cautions due to COVID 19, USDBC has adapted to the virtual ‘pivot’ where necessary and will have a packed schedule for the remainder of 2020 and into early 2021.  We continue to add new programming initiatives as needed and expect to offer our members three forms of export promotion in the next months:

Virtual – we will continue to offer webinars on topics of interest and impact to our industry such as food labelling and harvest reports. This will include webinars on the Mexican and US dry bean harvests in the early fall. We will be experimenting with a new format to conduct virtual trade missions in our Americas region.

Hybrid – Where possible we will attend trade shows with local staff only due to travel restrictions. For those trade shows still scheduled to take place in 2020, this is limited to Asia for now, we will continue to have a booth and will conduct meetings with buyers. We anticipate that these events will also offer a virtual marketplace so that our members can interact via web with their customers.

Limited in country travel and in person meetings – We anticipate that in places where businesses have begun to open, limited travel will also resume. In those parts of the world where this is possible, our local staff will resume their trade servicing and meeting schedule.

We will continue to keep you posted as the situation evolves and as we know the status of events in early 2021.
Get To Know Our Global Reps – Mexico

Raul Caballero
Raul Caballero is USDBC’s Mexico's Market Representative and CEO of Mercalimentos Consulting Mexico. He has a major in Business Administration from Mexico's Tech University and a Diploma in Marketing. Raul has represented trade associations for the last 26 years helping hundreds of companies to enter the Mexican market and rest of Latin America. He has managed all marketing, business and trade policy interests for USDBC including the two high profile activities; coordination of the Mexican Harvest tour and the USDBC USA-Mexico Congress organized for almost 25 years. Raul's experience in the food business started in the operation of restaurant related businesses and the last and most influential experience in trading comes from a former buyer position at Wal-Mart, Sam's Club when he had the learning experience of importing all the food categories including pulses.
BeanCon21 is the first of its kind global conference on everything beans with a strong focus on innovation. A one stop shop for buyers and sellers.
Join us March 2 - 4, 2021 at the Palms Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV.
For More info please log on to www.beancon21.com
UPCOMING EVENTS
September 2020 (tentative) Virtual
Caribbean Trade Mission

September 8 - 11, 2020

September 22 - 26, 2020 (Cancelled)

November, 2020 Virtual
Colombia, Panama Trade Mission

December, 2020 Virtual
Central America Trade Mission