Purchase prices for Ukrainian soybeans remain under pressure from low export demand

In Ukraine, purchase prices for soybeans remain low due to reduced demand from exporters and producers, who find it difficult to sell meal and pulp on the world market. Favorable weather for the development of soybean crops in South America, especially in Brazil, has led to a sharp increase in the supply of soybeans of the old crop, which increases pressure on the prices of soybeans and other oilseeds.

Export demand prices for soybeans with GMOs remain in ports at the level of 490-500 $/t or 15100-15500 UAH/t, so processors maintain purchase prices with delivery to the plant in the range of 15800-16500 UAH/t, depending on the protein content and quality.

Prices for non-GMO soybeans are also falling, as processors from Belarus, which are the main buyers of Ukrainian non-GMO soybeans, prefer Russian soybeans due to problems with the supply of railcars from Ukrzaliznytsia. In addition, prices for Russian soybeans are lower, even taking into account delivery from the eastern regions.

At the Ukraine – Belarus border, prices for non-GMO soybeans decreased by 2 20-30/ton to 6 615-625/ton, as a result of which non-GMO soybeans fell to 6 630-640/ton in ports.

According to APK-Inform, Ukraine exported 400.5 thousand tons of soybeans in my 2021/22, compared to 701.1 thousand tons on the same date last year. Turkey remained the largest buyer of Ukrainian soybeans, although it halved the volume of purchases compared to the previous season, from 287.1 to 135.9 thousand tons, while the EU reduced imports from 150.3 to 138.3 thousand tons, Belarus – from 131.1 to 70.9 thousand tons, and Egypt – from 83.1 to 20.4 thousand tons.

January soybean futures on the Chicago Stock Exchange this week rose 1.5% to 4 462/ton, adding a total of 1.1% for the month.

According to the NASS Fats & Oils report, in November, the volume of soybean processing in the United States decreased by 10% compared to October to 4.88 million tons. export sales of soybeans from the United States so far amount to 38.8 million tons (out of the USDA forecast of 55.79 million tons) compared to last year's 52.8 million tons.

Most of all, the market is pressured by favorable weather for the development of crops and forecasts of a record soybean harvest in Brazil. Following the stone X agency, experts of the Brazilian Association of oilseeds processors Abiove raised their forecast for soybean production in 2021/22 MG by 0.7 million tons to a record 144.8 million tons, which is 6.5 million tons higher than the harvest of the 2020/21 season.