USDA predicts soybean output to decline over last year

In Germany, UFOP reports that despite its downward estimate of global production, the USDA continues to take an optimistic outlook on 2017/18 global soybean output. The agricultural department expects world production to decline by 7 million tons to 345 million tons. The reason is a decline in Brazilian production, Agrarmarkt Informationsgesellschaft (AMI) reports. The USDA estimates the 2017/18 Brazilian crop at 107 million tons, down 7 million tons from the previous year. However, Brazilian soybeans will not be harvested until the beginning of 2018. This means that the estimate is very early and will be adapted considerably over the course of the year.

The US crop is projected at 116 million tons, down 1 million tons below the 2016 record. Consequently, the US will remain the world’s largest producer of soybeans. Argentina occupies third place. USDA projects the Argentine harvest at 57 million tons, only 0.8 million tons less than the previous year.