One of the United Kingdom’s biggest buyers of mung beans was in Gunnedah recently to investigate the possibility of sourcing Australian produce.
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Bakkavor group technical manager Niall Cameron, who represents a fresh food company based in England but with site offices across the world from Spain to the United States, stopped by an Orange Grove Road property run by Gary and Debbie Humphries who grow the beans.
Bean supplier Graham Shields from Coolabah Produce said the buyer usually sources his “hand-picked” mung beans from China but might be persuaded to invest in the Gunnedah produce.
“He was really impressed,” Mr Shields said.
“He’s here for a week on a fact-finding mission and one of the biggest buyers in England.
“He mainly sources fruit and veg but also mung beans.”
Once known as mongrel beans, mung beans are now sometimes referred to as money beans. But agronomist and consultant Charles Colson said the mongrel tag was difficult to shake.
“They’re called that because they’re hard to grow and hard to look after,” he said.
Asked if he thought the English buyer would proceed, Mr Colson replied: “The price has to be right.” He said current price ranged between $900-$1500 a tonne.
Shields described it as a “huge market” with big potential in Australia in the years to come.
“I think our beans are as good as the hand picked stuff,” he said.
Australia exports 90 per cent of its locally-grown mung beans, according to the Australian Mungbean Association, the majority into India and south-east Asia.
The association also lists its Australian export value as $86 million.
Mr Cameron was due to attend the Premer field day before wrapping up his short visit to the north west region on behalf of Bakkavor, whose website boasts as the “leading international manufacturer of fresh prepared foods, employing 18,000 people worldwide across 43 operating facilities”.