At present, the market in fresh is supplied practically all the year round, with production coming from greenhouses and outdoors. Besides, a percentage of this production is marketed frozen (a small percentage of rounded-pod bean is tinned).

The cycle of the bean in greenhouses is from 90 to 120 days for dwarf varieties and between 110 and 150 days for pole beans.

In the warm areas of the Mediterranean coast and South Atlantic, as well as in the Baleares and the Canary Islands they are cultivated in greenhouses all over the year.

In the North coast of Spain (Cantabria and Galicia) it is also cultivated all the year round, although the period of flowering and harvesting must not coincide with the months of January to March.

In the areas of the interior of Spain, with harsh climate in winter, it must only be cultivated in spring and summer.

In Spain, as mentioned previously, beans are sold all over the year, as shown in the table:

Area	Months
Galicia (Grain Bean)	May-October
Castilla y León (Grain Bean)	May-October
Asturias (Grain Bean)	May-October
Andalucía (French bean)	May-October
Cataluña (French bean)	May-August
La Rioja (French bean)	May-August

Source: La Horticultura Española (2001) Sech.

In the world-wide markets, beans are found all over the year. The following table is an example of the dates of availability in the United Kingdom market, the origin and the weight of the packages.

Origin	Availability in the UK markets	Weight of the packages
Bangladesh	May-October	Various
Belgium	August-October	4 kg
Cyprus	March-November	3 kg
Egypt	October-March	3/6 kg
Ethiopia	November-April	Various
The Netherlands	All the year round	5/10 kg
Portugal	May-July	Various
Spain	According to the market demands	Various
Thailand	September-February	Various
Turkey	September-October	Various
United Kingdom	July-May	4/5 kg

Source: Fresh Produce Desk Book (2001)