The COVID-19 pandemic caused a lot of disruptions in agriculture, but its effect on consumer purchases added to an already good year for dry bean producers.

Along with toilet paper, hand sanitizer and soap, many people found beans to be in short supply. Grocery store bean aisles were just as bare as aisles for those other products, said Andi Woolf-Weibye, administrator of the Idaho Bean Commission.

“Despite all the craziness, 2020 was quite the opportunity for beans and those of us lucky enough to be in the industry,” she said during the University of Idaho’s virtual Bean School on Tuesday.

In Idaho, pinto prices — which tend to drive other market classes — were $38 to $40 per hundredweight in mid-July last year. That was double the price a year earlier, she said.

Beans were already in short supply before the pandemic, with production problems worldwide in 2019. Some mid-U.S. areas such as North Dakota had wet springs, which delayed planting and harvesting. Canada’s crop was left 20% unharvested due to weather, and Argentina saw similar issues due to frost concerns, she said.

That all resulted in a tight supply going into 2020, she said.

“These trends might continue through 2021, as it has been rumored Mexico will harvest about half of their spring and summer crops,” she said.

The Beans and Grains International Traders firm expects Mexico to produce 450,000 tons of beans in 2021, which is 47% below where it was last year. The U.S. Dry Bean Council thinks it might be even smaller than that, she said.

“Places like China usually would have stepped in to fill the void, but lately they have been producing less and consuming more themselves,” she said.

From what she’s heard, Brazil will be the next big competitive threat in the market, potentially shifting some soybean acres to dry bean acres, she said.

While the pandemic contributed to strong bean markets, it put a kink in some of the Idaho Bean Commission’s plans in 2020.

The commission was supposed to travel last spring and summer to Mexico and, unfortunately, that didn’t happen, she said. A lot of the commission’s activities this year will depend on how things play out.

“But we will absolutely continue our efforts in Mexico, potentially visiting a trade show or doing some more trials if it’s possible,” she said.

The commission has been working closely with its trade representative in Mexico and would like to attend any agricultural shows there, she said.

“Now is a great time to take advantage of the opportunity that exists down there, given their bean seed shortage, she said.

The commission will also continue to pursue the efforts of the multi-state dry bean research consortium and keep pursing grant funding. It will continue to focus more effort on garden beans, continue updating its website and social media platforms and continue holding virtual meetings, she said.

The commission’s approved expenditure for FY 2021 is $323,876, but she expects the actual amount to be only be a fraction of that due to less spending for marketing development and education and information, she said.