OREANDA-NEWS   A record soybean harvest in Russia in 2022 led to a decrease in imports. According to Sovecon, since the beginning of the season, the import of soybeans has decreased by 13% year-on-year, the decline in the indicator may continue. Russian soybeans are cheaper than imported ones, taking into account delivery, which makes processors focused on purchasing foreign raw materials less competitive.

The import of soybeans to Russia from the beginning of the season in September 2022 to January 2023 decreased by about 13%, to 685 thousand tons year-on-year, Sovecon calculated.

According to analysts, all imported volumes in the season are imports from Brazil. Supplies from Paraguay, another major soybean producer in the world, stopped in the spring of 2022, according to the Sovecon review.

The fact is that the country has a record low harvest of soybeans — 4.2 million tons against 9.9 million tons a year earlier, according to the USDA. In addition, Paraguayan officials noted difficulties in trade with Russia due to the tightening of sanctions due to military actions in Ukraine, Sovecon writes in the review.

Andrey Sizov, Director of Sovecon, attributes the decline in imports to a record harvest of soybeans in Russia, primarily in the central part. According to Rosstat, 2.5 million tons of soybeans were harvested here, which is 13% more than a year earlier. The Institute of Agricultural Market Conjuncture (ICAR) clarifies that the final soybean harvest in 2022 in Russia exceeded 5.75 million tons, and may be higher than 6 million tons. A huge harvest was recorded in all macro-regions, which is relevant in the context of the launch of two large creameries in the center of the Russian Federation with a total processing capacity of about 2 million tons with an emphasis on soybeans, ICAR analysts note.