In W22 in the soybean oil landscape, on Tuesday, May 30, soybean oil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) dropped 5.36% to 46.20 cents/lb caused by a sharp drop in rapeseed oil in Europe due to the abundant supply of biodiesel from China. In the US, for the week ending May 18, exporters reported sales of 1,700MT of soybean oil for 2022/23, all to Canada. This volume represented a drop of 72% WoW and 68% MoM. Additionally, cumulative soybean oil exports in 2023 are 126,600MT compared to 675,600MT in 2022. President Joe Biden finally announced adjustments to US biofuel policy, which could favour soybean oil demand in the medium term and move prices in Chicago. The price of South American FOB soybean oil cargoes has been lingering at more than two-year lows since international demand remains low as competitive edible oils offer attractive discounts. Soybean oil is unable to gain many buyers as Black Sea sunflower oil prices are at a considerable discount and have a strong supply. On May 24, FOB Black Sea sunflower outright prices were USD 150/MT less expensive than the South American FOB soybean oil values.
In Brazil, according to the most recent data from the Oilseeds Crushers Association, soybean oil exports are expected to decline to 2.15MMT in 2023 from 2.59MMT in 2022. According to the Mato-grossense Institute of Agricultural Economics (IMEA), the availability of the by-product in large quantities on the global market, which affected the decline in prices in Chicago, caused the price of soybean oil in Mato Grosso to fall 49.34% YoY in W22 to USD 858.70/MT. Lastly, from the beginning of the current season (September 2022) to the end of April, Ukrainian companies exported more than 184K MT of soybean oil. The exports remained stable throughout the reporting period, averaging 23K MT/month. Currently, Ukraine is exporting soybean oil mainly by land, rail, and road across the border with Poland.
