The Manitoba Advantage in Fava Beans
The labels fava and faba beans, wide beans, and horse beans are among the many names for faba beans. They are a type of high-protein pulse that is utilised in both human and animal nutrition. Fava beans are marketed as splits, flour, flakes, whole beans (raw or roasted), and other forms for human consumption. With an emphasis on research, information exchange, and market development, Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers promotes fava bean producers in Manitoba.
Manitoba’s Fava Beans Industry
- Manitoba’s seeded acreage of fava beans rose from 7,100 acres in 2019 to 9,500 acres in 2021.
- Manitoba grew more than nine per cent of Canada’s total fava bean production in 2021, producing 6,377 metric tonnes of fava beans.
- Since fava beans are a long-season crop, only roughly 500 acres were seeded this year due to a particularly rainy spring in 2022 that delayed seeding.
- Pricing for 2022 is expected to be about $12 per bushel, up from an average of $9 per bushel over the previous three years (2019-2021).
- Manitoba exported $10.6 million worth of fava beans in 2019, $6.2 million in 2020 and $770,000 worth of fava beans in 2021.
Processors
Industry Associations
Market and Consumer Trends
Although fava beans have historically been consumed in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean markets, fava bean as an ingredient is growing in popularity as a way to boost protein while maintaining an attractive texture and neutral flavour. Fava beans grow well in Manitoba but require greater demand to expand acreage. In Manitoba, they are often cultivated under production contracts, which is comparable for small acreage commodities with low market depth. Fava bean prices for animal feed tend to closely mirror feed pea prices, although fava bean for human consumption costs are slightly higher.
Research
The University of Manitoba conducts agronomic and cropping system research on soybean and pulse crops. There are research facilities for pulse and soybean disease at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Morden and Brandon.
Contact
For more information about Manitoba’s fava beans sector or if you would like this information in an alternate format, email us at: mbproteinadvantage@gov.mb.ca