DESCRIPTION

The common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a diploid annual species and is predominantly self-pollinating. Common bean consists of two major gene pools, Mesoamerican and Andean, characterized by partial reproductive isolation, that include wild populations and cultivated varieties. The common bean is the third most important food legume crop worldwide, surpassed only by soybean ( Glycine max (L.) Merr.) and peanut ( Arachis hypogea L.). Among the main food crops, the common bean shows the greatest variation in growth habit, seed characteristics (size, shape and colour) and maturation time. This variability enables its production in a wide range of cropping systems and environments as diverse as the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, China and Europe.

World Production

• Worldwide 333,671,692 tonnes of soybean is produced per year.
• Brazil is the largest soybean producer in the world with 114,269,392 tonnes production per year.
• United States of America comes second with 96,793,180 tonnes yearly production.
• Brazil and United States of America produce together more than 60 % of world’s total soybean.
• With 55,263,891 tonnes of production per year, Argentina is the third largest producer of soybean.

World Soybean Production by Country

	Country	Production (Tons)	Production per Person (Kg)	Acreage (Hectare)	Yield (Kg / Hectare)
	Brazil	114,269,392	545.353	35,881,447	3,184.6
	United States of America	96,793,180	295.313	30,352,150	3,189
	Argentina	55,263,891	1,242.039	16,575,887	3,334
	China	15,728,776	11.284	8,426,405	1,866.6
	India	13,267,520	9.927	11,131,260	1,191.9
	Paraguay	8,520,350	1,208.049	3,565,000	2,390
	Canada	6,045,100	162.443	2,270,500	2,662.5
	Russian Federation	4,359,956	29.684	2,772,198	1,572.7
	Ukraine	3,698,710	87.515	1,612,800	2,293.3
	Bolivia	2,990,845	264.505	1,387,973	2,154.8
	Uruguay	2,828,000	806.621	966,000	2,927.5
	South Africa	1,170,345	20.274	730,500	1,602.1