Record soy production forecast for Europe, planting in Ukraine exceeds expectations

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© GettyImages/JTSorrell (Getty Images)

Europe is aiming for a record year in soy, 4.3% higher than 2021, according to industry figures.

This year’s total soy area is predicted to grow to 4.5 million hectares, finds the latest market report from Donau Soja.

Soy area in the EU-27 is predicted to expand by 12% to a record 1.09 million hectares, said the organization.

Higher soy acreage is expected in Germany, Austria, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Croatia.

Meanwhile, in Ukraine, the latest official data indicates that soybean sowing has proceeded better than expected and will reach the level of 2021, noted Donau Soja president Matthias Krön.

Current cultivation figures from the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture show a significant shift of arable crops in the direction of soy. “Around 1.1 million hectares of soybeans have already been planted, with the sowing season set to last at least another three weeks.”

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Official Ukrainian sowing data May 2022

Sowing is nearly finished in Serbia, and Croatia, reported the Donau Soja team. Both countries saw quite a dry spring. Sowing is also just about completed in Austria. In Italy, some regions such as Emilia Romagna are at 90% sowing rate, but the northern region is considerably slower in terms of planting progress, at only 20-30%, with sowing on hold due to dry weather conditions, commented the sustainable soy promoting group.

The increase in soybean planted area in the EU is fueled by a combination of different factors including the current high commodity prices, increased public demand for local non-GM soy as well as limited access to fertilizers, with soy cultivation less dependent on nitrogen fertilizer than other crops, commented Donau Soja. Another reason is grower perception that soybeans are a better fit for the increasingly hotter and drier conditions being experienced in many parts of crop producing regions of Europe, it added.

The overall soybean output is expected to grow by 4.7% to 10 million tons in Europe in 2022. As it is still early in the season, any soy output forecast is based on the average yield trends of the previous five years, said the organization.  

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Donau Soja Europe and EU-27 soy acreage data