STRATEGY ▶▶▶ BY TREENA HEIN A
mong plant protein ingredients, soybeans have the highest crude protein content, about 40% depending on global location. They also have a balanced amino acid profile and very good di-
gestibility. It’s no surprise then that in 2021 soybeans are the largest global source of protein for livestock feed. The authors of a recent report in the journal Nature Sustainabili- ty, who hail from academic institutions all over the world, noted that global production of soybeans has more than doubled since 2000, mostly from new acreage (about 70% of production), as well as from yield gains due to advances in soybean genetics and cropping practices. Soybeans are grown in about 100 countries in total. “More than half of the world’s soybean production currently resides in South America, where the soybean harvested area has increased since 2000 by 160% in Brazil and by 57% in Argentina,” the researchers state. “Over the same period, China’s soybean imports from Brazil have surged by 2,000%, mostly to provide animal feed to meet increasing meat con- sumption.” At the same time, trade tensions between China and the US (a country from which China also imports soy- beans) are expected to result in even more soybean imports into China from South America in the future. “China is the biggest source of soybean demand,” explains Stefan Vogel, Global Sector Strategist, Grains & Oilseeds, at
RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness. “Generally, whole soy- beans are imported by China for animal feed, mostly from Brazil and the US with some from Argentina, and are pro- cessed into meal there. The hot market is hog feed, al- though chicken feed production has jumped recently as well.” China is currently rebuilding its national pig herd after heavy losses in recent years due to African Swine Fever. Cur- rently, there are over 440 million live pigs in China, notes Asim Anand, Senior Editor at SP Global. Brazil also exports sizeable amounts of whole soybeans to Europe, with additional volumes to Asia, the Middle East and other parts of the world, says Vogel. Soybean meal pro- duced in Brazil is exported to many countries, with Europe being the main destination, followed by countries in eastern and southern Asia. “We expect soybean acreage in Brazil to continue to increase,” says Vogel. “In the past five years, that has been 2-3% a year, but already for this year’s crop it was close to 4.5%. And it may be even larger than that in 2022 as demand is strong and farmers are making good margins given high global prices and a relatively weak Brazilian currency.”
EU and Europe Vogel notes that in the EU there is a relatively stable live- stock population and while soybean production in the EU has increased over the past decade, meal made for stock feed from EU soybeans currently only amounts to about 7%
Figure 1 - The world’s soy. Is it used for food, fuel or animal feed? Shown is the allocation of global soy production to its end uses by weight. This is based on data from 2017 to 2019.
Global soy production
Direct human food 19.2%
Tofu (2.6%) Soy milk (2.1%) Other e.g. tempeh (2.2%)
Oil (13.2%)
Soybeans processed to soy cake for feed
Poultry (37%)
Animal feed 77%
Pig (20.2%) Aquaculture (5.6%)
Other animals (4.9%) Dairy (1.4%) Beef (0.5%) Pets (0.5%)
Industry 3.8%
Soybeans fed directly to livestock (7%)
Biodiesel (2.8%)
Lubricants (0.3%) Other (0.7%)
Source: Food Climate Resource Network (FCRN), University of Oxford and USDA PSD database;
OurWorldinData.org.
▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 10, 2021
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