Features of import of soybean meal to EU countries

When processing any plant, seed cake inevitably remains, which is also used for the needs of farmers.

Soybean meal is especially appreciated in international markets, which is famous for its high protein content, which remains even in the seed processing product. Thanks to this, the cake is used as a full-fledged compound feed, and also feed mixtures for farm animals and poultry are prepared from it. At the same time, there are two types of soybean meal at once – full-fat (obtained after processing soybeans without separating oil) and semi-fat-free (obtained after processing full-fat cake).

The residual oil content of such products is 6-14%. This product is actively purchased by the EU countries, where not enough own soybean stocks are grown.

What is needed for the supply of soybean meal to the EU

For the successful supply of local Ukrainian products to the EU countries, local farmers must comply with a number of requirements adopted in this or that country. In particular, it is necessary to provide documents that confirm the quality of the manufactured product and the percentage of protein in it. Soybean meal is highly valued among farmers, therefore the initial product – soybeans – must be grown according to certain requirements, without using GMOs and other harmful additives banned in Europe. To get acquainted in more detail with those additives that are prohibited from using in Europe, you should go to the website of the Customs Union, as well as study the Federal Program of Organic Farming, which lists all the features of the market of a particular country.

In addition to the fact that the documents for products must comply with all standards, farmers need to be prepared to pay a certain duty when importing goods into a particular European country. Despite the additional costs, the final income of farmers allows us to speak about the profitability of selling Ukrainian soybean meal to other countries, since our farmers can offer quality products at prices affordable for European markets.

Features of import of soybean meal

According to the State Statistics Service, the Ukrainian market for the production of soybean meal has been actively developing since 2018. Up to 500 thousand tons of this product are exported to Europe every year, setting records for the import and export of products. Experts note that this market is developing quite actively – practically the same as seven years ago during the “soybean boom”. Even the dry year of 2020 did not affect the amount of exports, and Ukraine managed to keep this bar at the “pre-crisis” level. Apart from Ukraine, this market is actively filled with products from Canada and Russia. At the same time, it is noted that exports go not only to the EU countries, but also to Belarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. According to analysts, a large share of Ukrainian products – up to 40% – are bought in Europe, another 17% go to Asia, and 8% – to Africa. Therefore, the supply of this product is always in demand and its production by local farmers always makes sense.