US biofuel sector increases soybean oil consumption

USDA raised its estimate for soybean oil use in US biofuel production in the MY 2025/26 to 14.8 bln pounds in its September WASDE report, up from 14.7 bln pounds in the previous forecast. The estimate for MY 2026/27 was left unchanged at 17.8 bln pounds.

For comparison, 11.758 bln pounds of soybean oil were used for biofuel production in the US in the MY 2024/25. This indicates continued growth in demand from the biofuel sector.

At the same time, USDA raised its forecast for US soybean production in MY 2026/27 by 16 mln bushels to 4.5 bln bushels. Harvested area was increased by 100 thsd acres, while yield was raised to 52.8 bushels per acre. The export forecast was increased by 25 mln bushels to 1.69 bln bushels, while ending stocks were cut to 310 mln bushels.

USDA raised the season-average soybean price forecast by $0.60 to $12 per bushel. The soybean meal price forecast was increased by $30 to $340 per short ton, while the soybean oil price estimate was left unchanged at 70 cents per pound.

Global soybean production in MY 2026/27 was raised by 0.1 mln tons to 442.3 mln tons due to higher forecasts for the US and Canada. Global ending stocks were cut by 0.2 mln tons to 124 mln tons, while export forecasts were raised, including for the US, Canada and Ukraine.

Tags: USDA Report, USA, biofuel, soybean oil