May 30, 2006

 

ASA Weekly: Japan's soybean imports to remain high in 2006; US projects farm exports to hit US$67 billion in 2005/06

 

 

Japan's soybean imports to remain high in 2006, USDA says

 

Soybeans are the most imported oilseed in Japan. USDA estimates that total imports of soybeans for 2006 are forecast to be 4.2 million tonnes, down slightly from 2004 and 2005, due to reduced soybean crushing. The US share of imports should remain at the 2005 level of roughly 76 percent, USDA says.

 

Japan's total utilisation of soybeans in 2004/05 was about 4.5 million tonnes with domestic production accounting for 226,400 tonnes and imports accounting for the remainder. Imports were mainly from the US (3.13 million tonnes) over that period.

 

In 2005, about 74 percent of total demand for soybeans was for oil use; 23 percent was for food use; and the remaining 3 percent was for feed use, according to USDA estimates. Food soybeans are used in Japan for tofu (soybean curd), frozen tofu, fried tofu, miso (soybean paste), natto (fermented whole beans), boiled soybeans, and soy sauce. USDA finds that soymilk and soy bars are gaining in popularity in Japan as well.

 

Meanwhile, the meal from soybean crushing is used for both animal feedstuffs and further processing into such products as soy protein and soy sauce. All Japanese users of food soybeans require "non-biotech" varieties from their suppliers, USDA says.

 

USDA concludes that soybean meal imports will remain relatively high as the Japanese livestock industry and feed manufacturers have started to use oilseed meals as substitutes for animal-origin meals as a consequence of the BSE outbreaks of the last few years.

 

US projects farm exports to hit US$67 billion in 2005/06

 

USDA is forecasting US agricultural exports will reach US$67 billion during the current fiscal year which ends Sep 30. The forecast is up US$2.5 billion from USDA's February estimate. Both higher prices and export volumes for corn and sorghum were credited for the increase.

 

USDA also said China has supplanted the EU as the no.4 customer for US farm products. The top five customers (and the value of US agricultural product purchased) are: Canada (US$11.4 billion), Mexico (US$10.4 billion), Japan (US$8 billion), China (US$6.8 billion) and EU (US$6.6 billion).

 

Mid-sized US grain, oilseed handlers face Jun 9 FDA recordkeeping start-up

 

FDA regulations requiring mid-sized food and feed companies to maintain strict recordkeeping are scheduled to go into effect Jun 9, and the National Grain & Feed Association (NGFA) has issued two guidance documents to aid in the process.

 

FDA's bioterrorism recordkeeping regulations apply to most industry firms that receive, store, manufacture, process, pack, distribute, transport or import raw grains and oilseeds, feed, feed ingredients, food or other agricultural products in the US. They became effective last December for companies with 500 or more employees; they become effective Jun 9 for companies with 11-499 full-time employees. For firms with 10 or fewer employees, the regulations take effect this coming December.

 

Companies covered by FDA's bioterrorism recordkeeping regulations are required to establish and maintain records sufficient to identify what the regulations call "the immediate previous source" (the supplier/seller) of the agricultural product and the "immediate subsequent recipient" (the buyer/receiver) of the product.

 

"Put simply, the FDA bioterrorism regulations require a one-step-back and one-step-forward recordkeeping to track products," says NGFA.

 

Companies that transport agricultural commodities, feed, feed ingredients and other food products also are required to establish and maintain records containing information that is "reasonably available" to identify the shippers and receivers of such products.

 

FDA's bioterrorism recordkeeping regulations provide partial exemptions for certain types of retail food establishments, including commercial feed dealers and retail feed stores. To qualify for the exemption, the total annual dollar value of sales by a retail store direct to final consumers must exceed the value of sales to all other buyers, which include farms, livestock and poultry feeding operations and other businesses.

 

According to NGFA President Kendell Keith, trade associations can provide information "that can assist grain, feed and processing firms immeasurably in better understanding the kind of recordkeeping information FDA requires, as well as available compliance options".

 

US House completes work on FY2007 agriculture appropriations

 

The House last week passed (by a vote of 378-46) a US$93.6-billion FY2007 agriculture appropriations bill. The Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee has yet to mark up its version of the legislation.

 

In total, the House bill provides US$18.4 billion in total discretionary resources, a decrease of US$96 million below the FY2006 enacted level and US$564 million over the president's budget request. As for mandatory spending, the House bill would provide for US$76.1 billion, down from US$83.1 billion in FY2006 and slightly below the US$76.4 billion requested by the president. Mandatory spending includes funding for such things as the entitlement programmes for food stamps and crop subsidies.

 

House members adopted an amendment by Agriculture Appropriations Committee Chairman Henry Bonilla (R-Texas) to restore about US$40 million to the environmental quality incentives programme (EQIP). Overall, conservation programmes received US$791 million, a decrease of US$40 million from last year.

 

The bill would provide US$80 million to fund avian influenza countermeasures and monitoring, and about US$90 million for mad cow detection and prevention activities. It also would provide US$19.7 billion for USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation and US$1.2 billion for PL-480, the food for peace programme.

 

U.S. & South America Soybean/Products Balance
	United States			Argentina			Brazil
	Actual	Estimate	Proj.	Actual	Estimate	Proj.	Actual	Estimate	Proj.
	2003/04	2004/05	2005/06	2003/04	2004/05	2005/06	2003/04	2004/05	2005/06
Soybeans	thousand tonnes
Carryin	4,853	3,059	6,960	1,738	1,911	1,057	3,231	3,268	1,696
Production	66,778	85,013	83,999	33,000	39,000	40,500	51,000	53,000	57,000
Imports	151	152	108	540	721	800	364	408	425
Crush	41,631	46,160	46,811	25,072	29,000	29,300	29,172	29,399	29,329
Exports	23,946	30,011	24,494	6,790	10,000	10,450	19,256	22,798	25,280
Other	3,146	5,093	4,396	1,505	1,575	1,645	2,899	2,783	2,912
Usage	68,723	81,264	75,701	33,367	40,575	41,395	51,327	54,980	57,521
Carryout	3,059	6,960	15,366	1,911	1,057	962	3,268	1,696	1,600
Soymeal	thousand tonnes
Carryin	200	191	155	347	354	1,169	911	753	896
Production	32,953	36,938	36,844	19,807	22,765	23,000	22,330	22,917	23,023
Domestic use	28,590	30,448	30,617	700	850	900	8,099	8,735	9,250
Net Exports	4,372	6,526	6,155	19,100	21,100	22,250	14,389	14,039	13,671
Usage	32,962	36,974	36,772	19,800	21,950	23,150	22,488	22,774	22,921
Carryout	191	155	227	354	1,169	1,019	753	896	998
Soybean oil	thousand tonnes
Carryin	676	488	771	99	74	100	285	293	128
Production	7,748	8,781	9,090	4,513	5,115	5,354	5,579	5,588	5,621
Domestic use	7,651	7,910	8,165	140	145	155	3,054	3,059	3,135
Net exports	285	588	481	4,398	4,944	5,224	2,517	2,694	2,459
Usage	7,936	8,498	8,646	4,538	5,089	5,379	5,571	5,753	5,594
Carryout	488	771	1,215	74	100	75	293	128	155

 

USDA Export Sales (tmt) - Week of 18 May 2006
Country	Commodity	New Sales	Accum. Exports		Country	Commodity	New Sales	Accum. Exports
Canada	Soybeans	4.20	176.70		Nicaragua	Soymeal	2.50	40.60
Colombia	Soybeans	6.40	151.50		Panama	Soymeal	0.70	81.60
Indonesia	Soybeans	57.00	944.70		Philippines	Soymeal	0.90	348.10
Japan	Soybeans	26.50	2197.50		Bahrain	Soyoil	0.10	0.20
Malaysia	Soybeans	0.30	163.80		Canada	Soyoil	1.10	21.30
Mexico	Soybeans	112.10	2635.80		Cuba	Soyoil	8.00	45.60
Taiwan	Soybeans	9.60	1307.60		Jamaica	Soyoil	0.30	81.50
Turkey	Soybeans	6.50	436.20		Jordan	Soyoil	0.10	0.10
Canada	Soymeal	12.00	744.00		Trinidad	Soyoil	0.10	1.40
Chile	Soymeal	5.00	83.30
Colombia	Soymeal	8.10	236.40
Honduras	Soymeal	3.10	83.30		Export Sales Totals (tmt)
Hong Kong	Soymeal	0.40	12.70		Commodity	Outstanding Sales	Accum. Exports	New Sales
Japan	Soymeal	1,1	240.20		Soybeans	1,817.90	21,266.40	234.60
Mexico	Soymeal	37.50	884.00		Soymeal	1,072.40	4,011.50	87.30
New Zealand	Soymeal	1.40	44.60		Soyoil	47.30	230.10	9.40