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U.S. soybean meal exports hit record levels
The CEO of the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) says the 2023-2024 marketing year was a record for soybean meal exports.
Jim Sutter says export volumes were up 10% on the year and 17% over the five-year average.
“It’s been a good year.” He says, “A lot of people were asking us, as we saw new crush plants coming up in the U.S., ‘What are we going to do with all the meal?’ And we kept saying, you know, we believe that there is good international demand. And lo and behold, that has happened.”
He tells Brownfield the expansion of soy-based biofuels has led to an excess of soy meal.
“So, the meal was a bit of a byproduct of that.” He says, “We continue to see the record crush numbers, and as we had more meal available, the market wanted to take it.”
Sutter says the Philippines, Mexico and Canada were the top three U.S. meal importers.
“Venezuela is a market where we are seeing new demand for U.S. meal.” He says, “Other burgeoning markets, I would say Morocco, and we expect them to continue growing. We also expect that to be a gateway for the rest of Africa.”
He says U.S. soybean meal exports were valued at $6.7 billion, and with the USDA projecting global soybean demand to increase 4.3% next year, Sutter expects continued growth for meal exports.
AUDIO: Jim Sutter – USSEC
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