ST. LOUIS – The US soy industry has exported 1.7 billion bushels of US soy to global customers in the 2012-13 marketing year, ending Sept. 30. The value of these exports totals a new record of more than $28 billion – an 19 percent increase from 2011-2012.

This total includes more than 1.3 billion bushels of whole US soybeans, meal from 454 million bushels of US soybeans and oil from 186 million bushels, which represents 56 percent of US soybean production from last year, according to the US Census Bureau.


“The reliability and quality of the US soy supply are just a few reasons that customers keep buying US soybeans, meal and oil,” said Jared Hagert, United Soybean Board (USB) farmer-leader. “Continuing to meet our customers’ needs is very important to U.S. soybean farmers, and these numbers prove we are doing that.”

Regarding soy exports for the 2013-2014 marketing year, 87 percent of the total 2014 export forecasts are already sold.

Leading buyers of whole US soybeans in 2013 include China: 772 million bushels; Mexico, 98 million bushels; and Japan, 63 million bushels. Top buyers of US soybean meal in 2013 include Mexico, meal from 59 million bushels of U.S. soybeans; Philippines, meal from 47 million bushels; and Canada, meal from 43 million bushels. Leading buyers of US soybean oil in 2013 include China, oil from 37 million bushels of US soybeans; Mexico, oil from 35 million bushels; and India, oil from 21 million bushels.