Soybean Rises Amid High EU Imports, Argentina’s Output Cut

On Thursday, soybean prices increased due to high imports from the European Union. Besides, the USDA slashed its outlook on Argentina’s soy output. At the time of writing, the US soy futures for the March delivery contract rose by 0.59% to $1,529.25 per metric ton.

In the week ended January 29th, the EU’s weekly soybean imports improved by 35.00% to 153,557.00 metric tons.

Spain is the region’s leading importer, receiving 85,781 MT. Portugal and Belgium followed with 25,020 MT and 17,345.00 MT, respectively. Besides, the EU’s total soybean import data for 2022/23 was 6.20 million MT, 20.00% below last year’s pace.

Since July last year, the Netherlands has been the region’s leading soybean importer with 1.80 million MT. Then, Spain, Germany, Italy, and Portugal followed with 1.65 million MT, 467,732 MT, and 420,598 MT, respectively.

Meanwhile, the bloc’s soybean meal imports declined by 15.00% to 216,726.00 MT week-on-week. This latest data lifted the total by a decrease of 4.00% year-over-year to 92.20 million MT.

The Netherlands was its leading importer during the week between January 22-29, with 85,192 MT. Spain and Ireland with 55,237.00 MT and 26,400.00 MT, respectively.

USDA Cut Outlook for Argentina’s Soybean

Furthermore, the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Ag Service slashed the outlook for soybean production in Argentina. It is due to the hot and dry weather recorded in the country last year.

The crop’s production is projected to reach 36.00 million tons, 9.50 million less than the most recent official USDA FAS guidance. It could lead to heightened demand for US soybeans and soy products as Argentina is the world’s largest soybean meal and oil exporter.

Recently, the South American nation’s weather woes pushed March soybean meal futures to record highs. Besides, it helped the nearby months for the crop to hand around the $15.00 per bushel level.