Brazil raises 2026 soymeal export forecast to record 25.3 million tonnes
Abiove raised Brazil’s 2026 soymeal export forecast by 400,000 tonnes to a record 25.3 million tonnes, citing solid foreign demand. Record crushing and meal production are expected to support both an 8.7% increase in exports and higher domestic consumption.
Export estimate rises by 400,000 tonnes
Brazil is expected to export a record 25.3 million tonnes of soymeal in 2026 after the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries, known as Abiove, raised its forecast by 400,000 tonnes from the previous month. Reuters reported that the 1.6% revision reflected what the association described as solid foreign demand.
The new projection represents an 8.7% increase from Brazil’s 2025 soymeal exports, according to Abiove. Brazil is the world’s second-largest exporter of the animal-feed ingredient after Argentina, making the revision relevant to buyers and competing suppliers across the global feed market. The association represents trading companies and oilseed processors operating in the country.
Record processing expands meal supply
Abiove expects Brazil to produce a record 48.7 million tonnes of soymeal during 2026. The projected supply would accommodate both the higher export volume and domestic demand, which the association estimates at 21.4 million tonnes. Together, the export and domestic-consumption forecasts account for 46.7 million tonnes, leaving the remainder to other uses and changes in inventories; Abiove’s figures as reported did not detail that allocation.
The production outlook is supported by projected soybean crushing of 63.3 million tonnes, also an annual record. That forecast was unchanged from Abiove’s July estimate. Processing reached 28.30 million tonnes in the period through June, 7.7% more than during the same period of 2025, Reuters reported, citing the association’s monthly data. The figures show that Brazil’s role in the soybean market is expanding beyond shipments of unprocessed beans toward larger production of meal and oil.
Large harvest supports exports and domestic use
Abiove estimates Brazilian soybean production at 180.4 million tonnes in 2026, in line with data from the National Supply Company, or Conab. Soybean exports are projected at 115.4 million tonnes, while imports are estimated at 900,000 tonnes. The combination of a large crop and record industrial use supplies the raw material required for the higher soymeal forecast.
For feed manufacturers and importers, the extra 400,000 tonnes in Abiove’s latest estimate increases the prospective availability of Brazilian meal. For processors, the simultaneous records in crushing, meal output and exports indicate that foreign demand is absorbing part of the additional production while Brazil’s own market continues to grow. Argentina remains Brazil’s principal competitor in global soymeal exports, but Abiove did not provide destination-level forecasts or price projections in the figures reported. The effect on individual importing markets will therefore depend on purchasing patterns, freight costs and the timing of Brazilian shipments, none of which were specified in the update.
