Grains Australia investigates new faba bean export markets

Grains Australia is investigating potential new export markets for the country’s superior faba bean, with China one such opportunity following a recent conference held in Qingdao.

Australian Kaspa peas and green mungbeans are currently exported to China, but industry sights have been set on expanding pulse exports and adding faba beans to the product mix.

The conversation continued with industry during the China International Pea Conference held earlier this month, off the back of investigations done by GA in collaboration with industry.

Grains Australia trade and market access general manager John Ackerman — who attended the conference — said there was growing interest in Australian faba beans for value-added food manufacturing.

He said this included for deep processing, snacks and plant-based protein innovation.

“Australia is globally recognised as the world’s leading exporter of high-quality faba beans, with strong, established markets in the Middle East and growing demand across Southeast Asia,” Mr Ackerman said.

Australian production for faba beans was estimated to reach 680,000 tonnes in the 2025-26 financial year — down slightly on the year prior of 750,000t.

The majority of Australian fabas are currently exported to Egypt, while other markets include Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Morocco, Laos and Thailand.

Mr Ackerman said Egypt had already bought more Australian beans this year than during 2023 and 2024 — buying 400,259 tonnes between October, 2024, and March, 2025.

“Record tonnage from New South Wales made up for shortfalls in the southern states and while they might be different varieties of beans to what some customers have been used to, Egyptian import volumes are telling a positive story,” he said.

“It is clear that faba beans are a highly marketable commodity and what Australia grows should find a home.”

Mr Ackerman said export demand was backed up by domestic stockfeed use.

He also said there was an increased focus on processing beans within Australia to extract protein for many human consumption and stockfeed uses.

Kojonup farmer Ben Webb said the Kojonup region would benefit in particular from increased export opportunities.

“We’re a traditional lupin growing area,” he said.

“They (faba beans) grow well in our wet areas.”

The producer currently farms 1400ha 40 kilometres west of town, with 25 per cent legumes, alongside his ram breeding enterprise of 12,000 ewes.

Mr Webb scaled back his faba bean production from 100 hectares to just 14ha in recent years due to an unreliable market for the product but said greater export opportunities, coupled with better marketing and agronomy, would encourage him to increase production.

“It became too hard to get rid of them. . . but if there was somewhere for them to go, we’d be keen to get back into them,” he said.

WA farmers have planted about 95,000ha to pulses this year, with an estimated harvest total of about 96,000t.

Nearly half of this total is expected to be harvested in the Esperance Port Zone — who have benefited from an early start — followed by the Kwinana Port Zone at 30,000t and the Albany Port Zone, at 18,000t.

A recent Grain Industry Association of Western Australia report suggested there was a “slight increase” in pulse plantings across the state this year — outside of the Esperance region — but crops have emerged late and will need a “good spring” to hit reasonable yields.

Just 3000t is expected to be produced across 3000ha of pulses in the Geraldton Port Zone.