Small White Beans
Ethiopia · Tanzania · Uganda
View productDry Beans
Navy Beans (White Pea Beans)
Navy beans — white pea beans — from Ethiopian and Tanzanian origins, graded to a narrow count band for canners and food processors.
Navy beans, also traded as white pea beans or haricot beans, are the small white oval type used at industrial scale for canned baked beans and for a range of prepared foods. Ethiopia has been an established origin for this line for many years, with production concentrated in the Central Rift Valley, and it is the East African origin most likely to have commercial volume of the type available.
- Origin
- Ethiopia · Tanzania
- Processing
- Whole, dried · Machine cleaned
- Crop year
- Stated on contract
- Packing
- 25 / 50 kg PP · FIBC
- Quantity
- Container quantities
- Incoterms
- FOB · CFR · CIF
- HS code
- 0713.33
- Availability
- Available
Specification
Typical export specification
Indicative contract parameters, not laboratory results. The specification that applies is the one written into the contract.
Navy Beans (White Pea Beans)
Small white oval bean for canning
- Product
- Navy beans / white pea beans, Phaseolus vulgaris
- Origin
- Ethiopia, Tanzania
- Crop year
- Stated on contract
- Moisture
- 14% max
- Purity
- 99.5% min
- Foreign matter
- 0.2% max
- Admixture
- 0.5% max
- Damaged and discoloured
- 1% max
- Broken and split
- 1% max
- Insect damaged
- 0.5% max
- Size
- Against buyer requirement
- GMO status
- Not genetically modified
Notes on specific parameters
- Crop year — Contract on a specific crop year; it materially affects colour, cooking behaviour and insect load.
- Size — Contracted as count per 100 g; canning buyers work to a narrow band for uniform cook.
- GMO status — There are no commercially cultivated genetically modified varieties of this crop.
- Canning buyers assess soak ratio, split rate after processing and colour retention on their own trial before approval.
- Uniform size matters more here than for most beans, because mixed sizes cook unevenly in the can.
Grades and forms
Available grades
Commercially distinct types, each contracted separately.
Standard navy bean
The commercial canning grade: small, oval, uniform white beans graded to a narrow count band and cleaned to a high purity.
Packing and supply
Packing and container supply
Standard formats below, and buyer-specific packing where it can be supported. Planned net weight per 20ft container is indicatively 19 MT, confirmed against packing, density and destination.
Packing
- 25 kg PP woven bag
- 50 kg PP woven bag
- 25 kg multiwall paper bag
- Buyer-branded bags
- Jumbo bag / FIBC
Container
- 20ft FCL — standard for bagged pulses
- 40ft FCL where the density suits it
- ~19 MT indicative net per 20ft
Terms
- FOB
- CFR
- CIF
- FCA on request
Loading
- Net weighed and marked to contract
- Container inspected before stuffing
- Final payload confirmed against density and destination
Packing is confirmed in writing before bagging begins. Packing formats and marking in full.
Quality and trade
Quality and export documentation
What decides quality in navy beans
- Size uniformity
- More important here than for any other bean on this site, because a fixed canning process cooks mixed sizes unevenly.
- Purity and foreign matter
- Tolerances are tighter than for coloured beans, because anything not removed at origin ends up in the can.
- Discolouration
- Highly visible on a pale seed; colour sorting is normal for this line.
- Moisture
- Commonly 14% max, set against transit time and destination conditions.
- Soak and cook behaviour
- Assessed by the buyer on its own equipment before approval.
- Split rate after processing
- A key canning metric; measured on the trial rather than specified in words.
Third-party inspection can be nominated at the loading point — sampling, analysis, weight verification and loading supervision. Quality and processing in full.
Typical export documents
- Commercial Invoice
- Packing List
- Bill of Lading
- Certificate of Origin
- Phytosanitary Certificate
- Fumigation Certificate
- Weight Certificate
Final documentation depends on the commodity, origin, destination and buyer requirements. Not every document listed is required on every shipment.
Origin and sourcing
Where this commodity is sourced
Sourced through established growers, aggregators and processors, with origin, crop and lot confirmed on each offer. Seasonal position is derived from the published crop calendar.
Typical sourcing window
Harvest Export
- TanzaniaMay–Jul · Jun–Oct
- EthiopiaNov–Jan · Dec–Apr
Tanzania: harvest May–Jul, export window Jun–Oct. Ethiopia: harvest Nov–Jan, export window Dec–Apr.
Indicative windows from the published crop calendar, not a live stock position.
More on navy beans
What distinguishes this bean commercially is the importance of size uniformity. Canning is a fixed-process operation: a batch is soaked and cooked to a set regime, and beans that differ in size cook differently within it. Undersized beans overcook and break up; oversized ones stay firm. A lot with a wide size spread therefore produces an inconsistent finished product even when every other parameter is within specification, which is why canning buyers work to a narrower count band than buyers of most other beans.
Purity tolerances are also tighter than for coloured types. Foreign matter and discoloured seed are highly visible in a pale product and end up in the can if they are not removed at origin, so the cleaning specification for navy beans is generally more demanding than the regional average.
Approval follows the canning pattern: the buyer runs a soak and process trial on a representative sample, assessing water uptake, split rate after processing and colour retention. That trial governs the purchase, and no written specification substitutes for it.
Also traded as white pea beans · haricot beans · baked bean type. These are trade names for the same commodity and are covered by this page rather than split across separate listings.
Destination markets
Typical destinations for this commodity. Import duty, quotas and phytosanitary conditions are set by the importing country — confirm the current position with your own broker.
End uses
- Canning
- Food processing
- Retail packing
Frequently asked questions
White pea beans and haricot beans are the same product. "Navy bean" is the common North American name, "white pea bean" is used widely in the export trade, and "haricot" appears in European usage.
Because canning is a fixed process. A batch is soaked and cooked to one regime, so beans that differ in size cook differently within it — small ones break up while large ones stay firm. A wide size spread produces an inconsistent finished product even when every other parameter is met.
Ethiopia is the established origin, with production concentrated in the Central Rift Valley and a long-standing export trade in the type. Tanzanian material is available at smaller volume and should be confirmed before contracting.
By running their own trial on a representative sample: water uptake on soaking, split rate after processing and colour retention. That trial governs the purchase, so sending a sample from the crop being offered is the fastest route to a decision.
Catalogue
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- Quantity
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- Specification
- Packing
- Incoterm
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