Global soybean meal trade to set record for third straight year

Global soybean meal trade is on track for a third straight record in 2025/26, driven by expanded soybean crushing in Brazil and the United States and strong biofuel demand, according to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) report released Aug. 12.

Global soybean meal exports are forecast to total 82 million metric tons, up 1% from the previous year and nearly a quarter from just three seasons ago.

While the pace of growth is expected to slow from the double-digit gains in 2023/24 and 2024/25, it would be the third straight year of record soybean meal exports. Meanwhile, soybean meal prices have fallen over two years from around US$550/t in November 2023 to around US$300/t in July 2025, making them more affordable for feed buyers worldwide.

Soybean meal imports are expected to grow by nearly 10 million tonnes between 2023/24 and 2025/26, with Iran, the EU, Vietnam and Mexico leading the growth.

Soybean meal imports into Indonesia are forecast to grow the fastest, reaching 6.2 million tonnes in 2024/25 (October-September), up 200,000 tonnes from the previous month’s estimate and 1.1 million tonnes more than in 2023/24, as the country sees strong growth in poultry and aquaculture feed demand.

Since 2022/23, Brazil has cemented its position as the leading supplier of agricultural products to Indonesia, accounting for almost 80% of imports in 2023/24, but the United States remains the country’s main supplier of food soybeans, accounting for almost 90% of the market and only 3% of the soybean meal market.

Argentina had consistently been Indonesia’s largest soybean meal supplier until 2022/23. However, the country faced a drought that year, which reduced soybean meal production and exports by more than 20%. In the same period, Brazil increased soybean meal production, leading to an increase in exports of almost 30% between 2020/21 and 2022/23.

Tags: soybean meal