European Union imports 60% of its soybean needs from Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Imports of soybeans into the European Union (EU) in the 2021/22 season, which ended on June 30, totaled 14.54 million tons, down 6% from the previous cycle, data released by the European Commission show.

The volume imported from Brazil, the world’s largest oilseed supplier, reached almost 60% of the total volume purchased by the EU in 2021/22, or about 8.5 million tons.

Soybean meal imports in the 2021/22 marketing year total 16.50 million tons, down 4.5% from the previous season.

Brazil, which has the EU as its main buyer of soybean meal, was the largest supplier of the product to the bloc of European countries, with 45.3%, surpassing Argentina, which leads in exports of processed soybeans.

Palm oil imports, at 4.80 million tons, were 12% below the 2020/21 import level.

EU imports of sunflower oil, mainly from Ukraine, totaled 1.95 million tons at the end of the season, up 13% from the previous season, data show.

Based on customs submitted by the 27 EU member states, the data may be revised in the coming weeks.

BRAZIL FEEDS 10% OF THE WORLD POPULATION

Farmers in Brazil fed some 10% of the world’s 7.76 billion population, a study  by state-run agricultural research agency Embrapa found in 2021.

Embrapa’s statement said that the study focused on Brazil’s grains and oilseeds production as basic food staples that can be used for direct human consumption or as animal feed for meat processing.

The findings highlight the country’s strength as a global farming powerhouse, as the South American nation went from being a net food importer in recent decades to become the world’s largest exporter of products like soybeans, beef, and chicken that it sells to China, the European Union, and many others.