MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil declares a record harvest of soy beans, 156 million tons in 2023

National soybean harvest witnessed a 20% rise compared to 2022, when drought adversely affected crops in the South.

The Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (Abiove) reported that the soybean harvest in Brazil, already completed in 2023, exceeded expectations, leading to an upward revision in export forecasts for soybean grain, meal, and oil this year. Soy remains Brazil’s primary export product.

Brazil, the world’s largest producer and exporter of soy, achieved a record harvest of 156 million tons, surpassing the May forecast of 155 million tons. Additionally, the projection for soybean grain exports in 2023 was revised to 97 million tons, compared to the previous estimate of 95.7 million tons. These figures indicate a 23.2% increase in annual exports, underscoring the robustness of international demand.

Abiove attributed the substantial crop yields to firm productivity across most of the country and an expansion in acreage. National soybean harvest witnessed a 20% rise compared to 2022, when drought adversely affected crops in the South.

The processing of soybeans in Brazil for 2023 was projected to reach a record 53.2 million tons, slightly higher than the previous estimate of 53 million tons and a 4.5% increase from 2022. This rise is attributed to higher domestic demand for soybean oil, primarily for biodiesel production, and increased soy-meal exports. Brazil has capitalized on Argentina's reduced crop to bolster its own soybean meal exports.

The forecast for soybean meal production in Brazil remained stable at 40.7 million tons for 2023, representing a 1.5 million-ton annual increase. Soybean meal exports from Brazil are expected to reach 21.9 million tons in 2023, up from the previous estimate of 21.4 million tons and a rise of 1.54 million tons compared to 2022. This positions Brazil to surpass Argentina as the largest global exporter of soybean meal in 2022/23, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Abiove also raised the projection for soybean oil exports from Brazil in 2023 to 2.3 million tons, an increase of 150 thousand tons from the previous forecast but still below the 2.6 million tons exported last year.

Domestic soybean meal consumption was estimated at 18.1 million tons, around 500,000 tons less than the previous year (2022).

Despite a slight reduction in the export price forecast for the soy complex (grain, meal, and oil), Abiove anticipates record export revenues of US$ 65.5 billion, surpassing the US$ 60.95 billion achieved in 2022.