Thanks to high demand for reliable, quality soybeans, meal and oil, 2012-2013 U.S. soy exports have remained steady in the number of bushels exported. However, the value of these exports set a record of more than $28 billion, a 19 percent increase from 2011-2012.
In the most recent marketing year, which ended Sept. 30, U.S. soybean farmers exported more than 1.7 billion bushels of U.S. soy. According to U.S. Census Bureau figures, this total includes more than 1.3 billion bushels of whole U.S. soybeans, meal from 454 million bushels of U.S. soybeans and oil from 186 million bushels of U.S. soybeans.
And soybean farmers can already start to look forward to seeing year-end numbers for next year. Exports for the 2013-2014 marketing year have already reached 87 percent of forecasts.
"The reliability and quality of the U.S. soy supply are just a few reasons that customers keep buying U.S. soybeans, meal and oil," says Jared Hagert, soybean farmer from Emerado, N.D., and United Soybean Board (USB) farmer-leader. "Continuing to meet our customers' needs is very important to U.S. soybean farmers. And these numbers prove that the U.S. soy industry is doing just that."
Top buyers of whole U.S. soybeans include:
- China: 772 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
- Mexico: 98 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
- Japan: 63 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
- Indonesia: 57 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
- Germany: 54 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
Top buyers of U.S. soybean meal include:
- Mexico: meal from 59 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
- Philippines: meal from 47 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
- Canada: meal from 43 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
- Venezuela: meal from 34 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
- Ecuador: meal from 18 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
Top buyers of U.S. soybean oil include:
- China: oil from 37 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
- Mexico: oil from 35 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
- India: oil from 21 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
- Venezuela: oil from 9 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
- Egypt: oil from 9 million bushels of U.S. soybeans