HENSALL CO-OP PROFITS FROM THE AZUKI BEAN
Posted on: March 2, 2010
In one corner of Ontario, a group of farmers has accomplished what few have been able to do in a globalized economy: snatch a bit of China’s economy away from the Chinese.
The commodity they are growing is the Azuki bean, a tiny vegetable about half the size of a navy bean. It is much sought after by the Japanese, who use it in candies and pastries.
Demand is so high that the Hensall District Co-operative, which has been doing business with the Japanese for years, is actively seeking new growers to take up the crop.
“We’re signing contracts daily,” said Murray Insley, field marketing manager with the Hensall Co-op, about 40 minutes north of London. “If we don’t grow it in Ontario, someone else will.”
Hensall has been selling the Azuki for about 20 years, but 2010 will be the largest production year yet, he said.
Profit from the bean, said Insley, is about $345 an acre, compared to $144 for corn and $132 for soybeans.
Summarized from The Delhi News Record, Feb 18, 2010.
Read the complete article at http://www.delhinewsrecord.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2453661 .
