Argentina may lose soymeal leadership to Brazil

Argentina may soon cease to be the world’s largest exporter of soymeal due to the effects of a historic drought that is likely to reduce oilseed production by 36% year-on-year to just 27 million tonnes in the 2022/23 cycle, said the Rosario Stock Exchange (BCR).

In this context, Brazil could become the leading international supplier of the soybean by-product, according to the BCR. It is worth noting that the last time Brazil outranked its neighbor as a soymeal exporter was 25 years ago.

“Argentina could be exporting around 20 million tonnes in the 2022/23 season, 29% of global trade, below Brazil,” said BCR in a statement, which forecasted Brazilian soymeal exports at around 21 million and 23 million tonnes.

According to the Brazilian veg oil industry association Abiove, shipments of soymeal from the country are expected to grow 3.7% in 2023 to 20.7 million tonnes.

Argentina has dominated the international soymeal market in recent decades thanks to its powerful milling complex, installed close to the producing regions and on the banks of the Paraná River, the shipment exit route.

However, a drought that extended itself between May last year and early March resulted in significant production losses, affecting agro-industrial activity.

Idleness

Last month, the grain crushers association CIARA-CEC told Reuters that due to the impact of the drought, Argentina’s soy processing plants are operating at the highest idle capacity in history and that imports of soybeans for processing would increase to around 8 million tonnes.

According to government data, agro-export companies informed soymeal shipments totaling 23.5 million tonnes, below the 27 million tonnes of the 2020/21 season.

Source: Globo Rural

To read the original news article, see: https://globorural.globo.com/agricultura/soja/noticia/2023/04/argentina-pode-perder-lideranca-na-exportacao-de-farelo-de-soja-para-o-brasil.ghtml

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