The chief marketing economist for StoneX Group says domestic soybean crush will become an even bigger market for U.S. soybeans if China gives Brazil more business the next crop marketing year.
Arlan Suderman says new soybean crush plants are opening across the United States.
“We’ve already opened a lot of additional crush capacity over the past two years and each year, we continue to add more crush capacity. Will it be enough to offset the lost exports? Probably not, unless there’s a short crop in South America.”
Suderman says if South America continues to produce a good soybean crop, the U.S. will lose some of its exports to China faster than expected and there will need to be additional markets to make up for the reduction.
He says it’s possible other countries, like Mexico, will buy more U.S. soybeans.
“We don’t normally think of Mexico importing soybeans, but they are a large buyer of U.S. soybeans. The U.S. Soybean Export Council is also working to gain additional customers, pursuing customers in Africa and other developing markets.”
There’s been some talk about the potential of the European Union market lately, but Suderman says the EU’s production standards remain strict, which might limit the market for some U.S. soybeans.