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Soybeans: Brazil sets new export record

May 5, 2020 at 3:30 PM , Der AUDITOR
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CHICAGO. On the US soybean market there is still great uncertainty about how strongly the corona crisis will restrict demand for animal feed. The Trump government is apparently planning new punitive tariffs for China.

US soybeans faced a slight downward trend again and reached USD 8.32 per bushel in Chicago in the afternoon. Soybean meal fell by 1.3%, while soybean oil rose by 0.4%. At 318,000 metric tonnes, the export inspection in the USA was well below trade expectations. Market tension was caused by threats by the Trump government to increase import duties on Chinese imports in order to punish China for its hesitant compliance with the Phase 1 agreement and for the massive spread of the coronavirus outside China, according to US broker circles. There is great uncertainty about how much the corona crisis will affect feed demand. The coronavirus crisis will continue to cause US meat factories to shut down and slow down production, Tyson Foods Inc. announced. Costco Wholesale said they must ration the sale of meat products to customers as the food trade prepares for massive shortages in the meat supply. Fewer slaughters also mean lower demand for animal feed, which puts a strain on the soy market. According to the Crop Progress Report, 23% of soybean sowings were completed in the US, a 12% lead over the five-year average. According to the NOPA Report, the US soybean crush reached 192.2 million bushels in March, exceeding trade estimates of 191.5 million bushels, which exceeded the previous record of 188.8 million bushels.

Soy meal LP (44/7), prices in EUR/mt

FOB

5/20

6/20

7/20

8-10/20

Rotterdam

-

301.00

294.00

293.00

Hamburg

308.00

297.00

289.00

288.00

Mainz

327.00

307.00

299.00

299.00

Straubing

347.00

327.00

320.00

319.00

Trade sources

Brazil put in a strong performance in exports
Brazil is clearly taking the race in soybean exports. According to US trade, the country exported 16.3 million metric tonnes of soybeans in April, a new monthly record. The previous record was 12.35 million metric tonnes in May 2018, it was said. US trade justified the good result with strong devaluations of the Brazilian real. Brazil's trade said that another 3 million metric tonnes of soybeans could be exported by the end of May. In Argentina the soybean harvest is progressing at a good pace, with 68% of the crop being harvested last Friday. However, the country is struggling with historically low water levels on the Parana river. Transporters are therefore trying to conclude contracts for small quantities only. In Brazil, however, prices remain rather attractive for most destinations.

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