Trade Consultant Expects Soybean Exports To Remain Strong

Aug 24, 2016

An international trade consultant says enormous soybean demand will continue even through what could be a record U.S. harvest.

"This time of the year in August, we're normally not selling a whole lot because it's prime time for South America," said John Baize of Falls Church, Virginia, "but this year, late in the season here, we're seeing fantastic demand for U.S. soy."

For the first time ever, Baize says a million tons of soybeans were exported in one week this month. And the USDA reported Monday that more than 900,000 tons were inspected for export this past week. South America had a short crop, said Baize, while the U.S., with big crops in 2014 and 2015, has had soybeans, with the ability to move them to ports.

"So we had a lot of soybeans to move, and we've been able to do that," Baize told Brownfield Ag News. "We're talking about a carryout this year that's only about a 19 day supply, which is very small."

Global demand for soybeans is growing at a rate of about 12 million tons a year, said Baize.

"People around the world have more money in their pockets, they want to eat a better quality diet, so they're eating more pork, particularly in China, but also in Vietnam and other places," he said. "But also [there's] growth in poultry demand around the world and increasingly, more soy is being fed to farm raised fish."

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