Chinese Bean FOB Prices Ease Slightly as Global Pulse Demand Stays Firm

Chinese bean FOB prices are trading in a narrow, slightly softer band, with minor day‑to‑day adjustments rather than a decisive move. Ample global pulse demand linked to plant‑based proteins keeps a floor under values, but record oilseed supplies and cautious Chinese feed demand limit upside.

Bean markets around Beijing remain broadly stable, with fractional declines in mung beans and small mixed moves in kidney and adzuki beans over the past fortnight. Internationally, pulses continue to benefit from strong structural demand as food and ingredient industries expand their use of pulse proteins and flours, even as overall oilseed markets are capped by record South American soybean production and softer Chinese feed usage. In China, late‑April weather is transitioning to seasonally warmer, mostly favorable conditions, reducing immediate weather risk for pulse planting compared with the excessively cold and wet spell seen earlier in the month.

📈 Prices & Recent Moves

All prices converted from underlying USD indications at an approximate rate of 1 USD = 0.93 EUR and refer to FOB China (Beijing) unless stated otherwise.

Bean type (CN, FOB Beijing)	Latest price (EUR/kg)	1-week change
Mung beans, organic, 99.5%	≈1.46	−1–2 cents, mild softening
Mung beans, 3.8 mm up	≈1.37	−1 cent, very small move
Kidney beans, dark red	≈1.15	+1 cent, marginal uptick
Kidney beans, black	≈0.96	+1 cent, marginal uptick
Adzuki beans, red (conv.)	≈1.22	+1 cent, marginal uptick
Adzuki beans, red (organic)	≈1.30	+1 cent, marginal uptick

• Mung beans in China are drifting slightly lower, reflecting comfortable nearby availability and competition from cheaper oilseeds in feed and food formulations.
• Kidney and adzuki beans show a very modest firming bias, consistent with steady domestic demand and relatively tighter dedicated acreage compared with soybeans.
• Internationally, broader pulse ingredient prices are underpinned by expanding food-use demand, helping prevent a steeper correction.

🌍 Supply, Demand & External Drivers

Chinese bean fundamentals sit against a backdrop of extremely large global oilseed supplies. Brazil’s 2025/26 soybean crop has been revised up toward ~179 million tonnes, reinforcing a heavy export surplus and pressuring protein markets more broadly. This abundance in cheap soybean meal keeps feed users price-sensitive and limits substitution into higher-priced specialty beans.

At the same time, Chinese demand growth for oilseed imports is projected to slow structurally as policy encourages reduced edible oil use, lower meal inclusion rates in feed, and higher domestic oilseed production. These shifts temper import demand for soybeans and indirectly cool the overall protein complex, contributing to the current sideways tone in mung and other beans despite strong global interest in pulses for human consumption.

⛈️ Weather & Planting Outlook – China

Earlier in April, major Northeast and North China Plain provinces experienced unseasonably cold, wet weather that delayed soil preparation for summer crops. While this report focused on soybeans, the same conditions were relevant for other pulses in rotation, raising temporary concerns about planting delays.

More recent regional climate outlooks indicate broadly average rainfall across much of China into the early planting window, supporting fieldwork as temperatures rise into late April and May. For bean markets, this means weather risk has eased in the very near term: planting may start slightly later in some areas, but there is currently no clear signal of a production shortfall for 2026/27 based on the latest data.

📊 Market Fundamentals

• Global pulse demand: Structural growth in pulse ingredients for plant-based and functional foods supports long-run demand for mung, kidney and adzuki beans, even as near-term pricing is constrained by cheap competing proteins.
• Export competition: Chinese-origin beans compete with South American and other suppliers whose cost base is influenced by record soybean harvests and soft freight markets, reinforcing tight FOB spreads across origins.
• Domestic demand: Food use in China remains steady, but macro headwinds and weaker livestock margins, illustrated by sharply lower hog prices, cap feed-related pulse use and encourage buyers to focus on price rather than volume expansion.

📆 Trading Outlook (Next 1–2 Weeks)

• Buyers (importers and food processors): Use the current mild softness in Chinese mung bean FOB prices to cover short- to medium-term needs; stagger purchases rather than front-loading, as there is no strong bullish catalyst in the immediate outlook.
• Producers/Exporters in China: Maintain offer discipline, especially on higher-quality and organic lots where the slight uptick in kidney and adzuki prices shows some resistance to further downside; consider small, targeted discounts only for larger, prompt shipments.
• Traders: Focus on relative value trades within the pulse complex (e.g., spreads between mung and adzuki or between Chinese and competing origins) rather than outright directional bets, given the broadly balanced near-term fundamentals.

📉 3-Day Regional Price Indication (CN)

Over the next three trading days, with stable weather forecasts and no major new supply shocks anticipated, Chinese FOB bean prices are likely to remain in a narrow range.

• Beijing FOB, mung beans: Bias slightly lower to sideways in EUR terms, as comfortable domestic supply and abundant global oilseed proteins cap rallies.
• Beijing FOB, kidney & adzuki beans: Sideways to marginally firmer, supported by steady food demand and relatively tighter specialty pulse acreage.
• Volatility: Expected to stay low in the very short term, with moves largely driven by currency fluctuations and freight, rather than fundamentals.