THE Australian Mungbean Association (AMA) is kicking off its 2018-19 Pre-Season Roadshow this week to bring the latest information on breeding, agronomy and marketing to growers and consultants in Queensland and northern New South Wales.

Mungbeans growing in North Queensland’s Burdekin region.

AMA president Mark Schmidt said the outlook for new-crop mungbeans was “very positive”.

“All of the crop that was grown this year has been exported, so there’s very little carryover.

“By the time we get our spring crop or our traditional summer crop planted, most of our export markets will have used up most of the stock from their own crop.

“I am expecting that the pipeline will be fairly empty by the time our harvest comes on stream.”

The world’s main mungbean producers are Burma, China and India with annual production around 400,000-600,000 tonnes each. They would be buyers whenever they have a shortfall in their own production.

“We sell mainly to Vietnam, China and India, but also to Sri Lanka, India, the US and Canada.”

Present indications would be that prices for new-crop mungbeans could be expected to sit at around $800-$900/t for manufacturing grade, and $900-$1000/t for processing grade.

Quality matters

The updates will include presentations from industry specialists on research and extension, insect control, breeding programs, varietal selection, disease, nutrition, desiccation, and mungbean storage, as well as a market insight.

Mr Schmidt said the roadshow provided the ideal opportunity for prospective or repeat growers and consultants to get the latest knowledge as the industry continued to grow.

“Buyers always like Australian-grown mungbeans because they are larger in seed size, and our success as an industry lies in producing beans of the highest quality.

AMA has estimated Australia’s 2017-18 mungbean production at 65,000 tonnes, compared with the two prior years of around 60,000, although well below its record export season of 160,000t.

“The driver of plantings is the timing of falls of rain, and we don’t want to send the message out that if you get a shower of rain, you can plant mung beans.

“Growers really need to have at least 30 centimetres of stored moisture to plant into, and give the crop the best chance of getting through.”

Mungbeans have a high tolerance to heat, use much less moisture than the major summer crops such as sorghum and cotton.  The crop typically grows over 90 to 110 days.

“Their ongoing benefit is their ability to fix nitrogen, and improve soil friability.”

Growing area covered

Australian mungbeans are grown from the Burdekin region of North Queensland to Dubbo in central NSW.

The two main varieties are Jade-AU and Crystal.

AMA Pre-Season Roadshow events are free to attend, and the Darling Downs will this week host the first series of meetings at Chinchilla, Dalby and Pittsworth, with Central Queensland fixtures next week in Capella, Rolleston and Biloela.

Next month, the road show will visit Goondiwindi, Moree and Gunnedah, and Ayr and Mackay in November.

Link here to register for either Chinchilla, Dalby, Pittsworth. (2Mb download)

Link here for booking details for Capella, Rolleston, Biloela. (2Mb download).

Australian Mungbean Association (AMA) www.mungbean.org.au