EU Soybean, Soya Meal Imports from U.S. Skyrocket

The EU’s imports of U.S. soybeans have skyrocketed 283% compared to the year before, expanding the bloc’s share of total U.S. soyabean exports from 9% in 2016/17 to 37% in 2017/18.  The rise in imports followed the 25 July joint statement between EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and U.S. President Donald Trump, in which they agreed that the EU and the U.S. would work to increase trade in soyabeans, wrote World Grain.  

In addition to soybeans, soya meal imports also rose, with 185,000 tons imported in July 2018, a massive 3,337% jump compared with July 2017.  The increase brought the U.S.’s share of total EU soya meal imports up from 0.3% in 2017 to 13% in July 2018.  

The European Commission (EC) said the EU needed soya as a protein for animal feed and it currently imported roughly 30 million tons per year of soya due to being unable to produce enough beans on its own.  U.S. soybeans and soya meal were the most competitively priced feed options for European importers and endusers, the EC added.