Brazil's soybean oil exports remained strong at the beginning of September 2023, while the country's soybean processing capacity has significantly increased. Preliminary data from the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services indicates that exports of soft vegetable fats and oils, which include soybean oil, reached 291,000 tons in the first 18 working days of September.
Growth in Soybean Exports and Processing Capacity
The average daily shipment rate for this category reached about 16,167 tons per day, which is a 33 percent increase compared to last week and a 278 percent increase compared to last year. With this trend, total exports for September are expected to reach around 339,500 tons. This category also includes vegetable oils other than soybean oil.
In the first seven months of 2023, Brazil exported about 1.57 million tons of soybean oil, surpassing the total of 1.363 million tons exported in all of 2022. The increase in exports coincided with strengthened soybean processing in the country.
New Forecasts from ABIove
The Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (ABIove) reported that soybean processing from January to July reached 33.6 million tons, an 8.3 percent increase compared to last year. In July, processing reached 5.13 million tons, indicating a 7.4 percent increase from the previous year.
On September 18, ABIove raised its forecast for soybean processing in 2026 to a record 63.5 million tons. It also increased the forecast for soybean oil production to 12.8 million tons from the previous 12.75 million tons. The forecast for soybean oil exports in 2026 has also been raised to 1.8 million tons, which is 5.9 percent higher than the previous forecast of 1.7 million tons, driven by strong domestic processing and a robust international soybean oil market.
Considering that about 1.57 million tons of soybean oil have been exported by the end of August, Brazil's soybean oil exports are about 230,000 tons less than ABIove's full forecast for 2023 before including September's volume.
Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the price of Brazilian soybean oil FOB Paranaguá for loading in November at $1,235.47 per ton on September 25.
