February 10, 2012

Argentina's soy crush sets new high in 2011

Argentina's soy crushing volumes hit a record 37.3 million tonnes last year as the large harvest was made into soymeal, soyoil and biodiesel for export.

Argentina leads global exports of soy derivatives, with most of the leading multi-national grain exporters running massive crushing plants and port complexes on the banks of the Parana River near Rosario.

Those plants crushed 37.3 million tonnes of soy in 2011, up from 36.8 million in 2010 and 24.3 million in 2003, according to the agriculture ministry. That came from a crop of 49 million tonnes grown during the 2010-11 season, historically high output, but down from the record 54.5 million tonnes grown in 2009-10, according to the USDA.

Crushing capacity has soared in recent years, reaching 59 million tonnes in 2011, up from 29.6 million tonnes in 2003, according to the ministry.

In 2011, Argentina produced 28.7 million tonnes of soy pellets and meal, which is exported for animal feed. Just over 25.5 million tonnes of the feed was exported in 2011, up from 20 million a year earlier, according to the ministry.

Last year, 7.1 million tonnes of soyoil were produced, with 5.2 million tonnes exported, in line with that from a year earlier.

A growing share of the soyoil produced was further processed into biodiesel. Biodiesel exports totalled 1.7 million tonnes last year, up from 1.4 million tonnes in 2010 and just 168,364 tonnes in 2007.

Argentina's 12 leading biodiesel producers, including global grain exporters like Cargill and Bunge, have spent close to a billion dollars to build plants and enjoy solid support from the government.

Biodiesel exports are taxed at 13.5%, compared to the 32% export tax on the soyoil used to make the fuel. The government also fixes a reference price to ensure profitable sales to the domestic market.

Local demand is ensured by a requirement that diesel fuel contain 7% biodiesel, with plans to boost that to 10% and then 20% within four years.