US soy exports speeds up despite sluggish harvests

The United Soybean Board (USB) announces that US soy exports continue to show growth despite a slow start to harvests in many parts of the US.

USB said soy continues to lead US agricultural exports with more than 1.56 billion bushels exported with a value of US$15 billion. The board attributed the growth to soy checkoff-funded international marketing efforts that assist US soy farmers and the soy.

According to USB data, of the 2008-09 soy crop, the US exported 55 percent, including 1.24 billion bushels of whole soy. The US exported nearly 320 million bushels of US soymeal, and exports of US soyoil totalled nearly 900,000 tonnes.

USB said that China was the top importer of US soy for the 2008-09 marketing year with a total of 686 million bushels or 23 percent of total US soy. Mexico imported the most US soymeal at 56 million bushels and the second-highest amount of US soy with 113 million bushels and US soyoil with 110,600 tonnes.

Total Mexico imports of US soy were valued at more than US$1.6 billion. India imported the most US soyoil, totalling 172,600 tonnes. US soy exports to Japan dropped slightly to 88 million bushels. The EU remained a strong market as the Netherlands imported 32 million bushels and Germany imported 25 million bushels.

USB said that the slow harvest poses some concerns for the 2009-10 marketing year, because the crop will be coming on the market later than usual. This could impact sales opportunities for US soy in the winter months.

Another concern is the possibility that the South American harvest could be earlier and larger than last year. Part of the increase in 2008-09 exports resulted from a drought in Argentina that left a gap for soybeans on the international market that the Us continues to fill, USB says.