Argentine May soybean crush at four-year high, on par with expectations

Soybean crushing in Argentina rose by a further 2% on the prior month and was up 7% from the same month last year, official data from the Argentine Ministry of Agriculture showed late Tuesday.

Soybean processing came in at 4.29 million mt, in line with market expectations of 4.3 million mt.

A seasonal increase in availability supported bean processing in May as the soybean harvest approached completion, however disappointing rates of farmer selling has continued to be seen this marketing year.

A total of 17.99 million mt of soybeans were processed in the first five months of the year, up 17% on the same time last year, as grinding activity continued to recover from disappointing rates last year.

Further support came from high soyoil prices as Argentinean soyoil cash prices peaked in early May.

The May soybean crush resulted in the production of 847,624 mt of soyoil and 3.58 million mt of soymeal, up 6% and 18%, respectively, from May last year.

In 2021, Argentina is forecast to crush 40.5 million mt of soybeans in 2021, according to the exporter chamber Ciara-CEC.