EU soybean production to rise for fifth year: USDA, EU

Soybean production in the European Union will rise for the fifth year in a row in the 2017/18 marketing year before flatlining or increasing slightly in 2018/2019, according to separate reports by the European Commission and the USDA published Thursday.

Owing to national and EU-wide incentives, production is expected to hit a record 2.8 million mt in 2017/2018, with the biggest increases recorded in in France, Italy and Romania.

As a result, imports of soybeans are expected to decline from 14.8 million mt in the 2015/16 year to 14.1 million mt this marketing year to 13.7 million mt next marketing year, according to the EU Commission’s Short Term Outlook report published this week.

Italy, which produces around 40% of EU soybeans, is expected to see production increase next year due to an improvement in yields.

While in France, which produces about 17%, the planted area and yields are both expected to increase due to national subsidies, according to a USDA attache report published this week.

The EU is the second largest importer of soybeans in the world, after China.

It currently sources around 70% of its import needs from Brazil and the US, but it is expected to source a growing amount of its beans from the latter due to an ongoing trade spat between China and the US.