Mercaris Murmurings: Organic soybean imports remain strong with increased African exports

Organic soybean imports were up in September to an estimated 32,000 MT, an increase of 325% y/y and 144% m/m. This large volume was driven by 19,000 MT coming out of Ghana, which is the second largest monthly volume ever seen from the country. Argentina was the second largest source of organic soybeans in September with 11,000 MT. Paraguay, India, and Nigeria each also exported less than 1,000 MT each. Maritime organic soybean meal imports declined in September to 20,000 MT, down 27% y/y and 37% m/m, with most of the imports coming out of Africa. Togo was the largest African exporter with 5,000 MT, followed by Benin with 3,000 MT, Ethiopia with 3,000 MT, and Nigeria with 2,000 MT. Ghana and Mozambique each also exported less than 1,000 MT. The largest organic soybean meal outside of Africa in September was India with 4,000 MT. The remaining 1,000 MT were sourced from Brazil.

Domestic organic soybean prices recovered in September. The price of feed-grade organic soybeans delivered to the U.S. Corn Belt averaged $22.00 during July, which is up $1.24 from the prior month and down $12.98 from a year prior. Market activity has been picking up as the organic soybean harvest begins.

Throughout the 2022/23 marketing year, which concluded in August, 9.3 million bushels of organic whole soybeans were imported into the United States. This is a decline of 17% from the prior year but above 2020/21 levels. Canada was one of the major exporters to see a major drop in exports, with a 48% decline from the prior marketing year to 637,000 bushels. Argentina and Turkey also saw large drops, with year-over-year decreases in volume of 24% and 19% respectively. India almost fully vanished as an exporter of organic soybeans to the United States, with a drop from over 400,000 bushels in 2021/22 to under 9,000 in 2022/23. These large drops were partially offset by the significant expansion of African exports. The largest African exporters of organic soybeans to the United States were Togo with a 171% increase to 1.6 million bushels and Ghana with a 108% increase to 900,000 bushels.

Mercaris, the nation’s leading market data service for organic and non-GMO agricultural commodities, is an SSGA member and a monthly contributor to the SSGA E-newsletter