Mato Grosso March soybean crush hits all-time high: IMEA

Soybean crushing in Brazil’s largest producing soybean state hit an all-time high of 913,500 mt in March on high availability of the bean as the harvest work was completed mid-April, IMEA said in a note published late Monday.

The March crush was up 10.77% on the month and up 10.68% compared to March 2017.

IMEA expects the strong pace to continue for the rest of the season, with the total crush for 2017/18 anticipated at 9.25 million mt, just under last year’s all-time high of 9.37 million mt.

Total production for the state is estimated at 32.17 million mt, an all-time high and up 2.3% from last year’s record.

However, state end-stocks will halve during the season to just 220,000 mt as exports and domestic demand are up 2.8%, driven by healthy bean and meal prices and a rise in international demand.

The 2017/18 soybean harvest in Mato Grosso was one of the first to be completed in Brazil and progress was completed by April 5, Brazil-based consultants Agrural said at the end of last week, with the entire country currently at 85%.

High international meal prices also propelled the US March crush to an all-time high of 171.858 million bushels (4.7 million mt) of soybeans, up 11.8% on the month, data released by National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) showed Monday.