Soybean price remains slightly under pressure

Precipitation at the end of last week in Argentina is good for the soy crop, which has had too little moisture in recent months. Argentina’s soy crop was estimated at 33 million tons by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the latest Wasde report, published March 8. That is a decrease of 8 million tons compared to a month earlier.

Pressure on soy prices

Argentina’s soybeans have suffered a lot from the drought this season. This creates pressure on prices. But the commodities market is also affected by the bankruptcy of the SVB bank, the 15th largest bank in America. The falling oil price is also affecting the soybean price.

Price index IGC

The IGC price index, a gauge for the global soy prices, fell to 293 points on Monday, March 13th (year 2000 = index 100). The trend for the soybean price has been declining since the beginning of this year. Compared to a year ago, the price index is 16% lower.

Brazil’s record harvest

There is also pressure on soybean prices in the longer term, as Brazil expects a record harvest. According to the USDA, the Brazilian harvest for the 2022-23 season will be 153 million tons. Of this, 92.7 million tons is available for sale on the world market. The sowing work is not going too smoothly this season. According to theBrazilian market agency AGRural, more than half (53%) of the soybean area in Brazil had been planted at the end of last week. Last year around the same date this was 64%.