EU remains important buyer of US soybeans

The European Union (EU) is introducing retaliatory tariffs on US agricultural products, including soybeans, in response to US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. This is likely to impact US soybean sales, as the EU is the second-largest buyer of US soybeans behind China. The EU is expected to shift to sourcing soybeans from South America and Ukraine to meet demand. This development could lead to a permanent decline in the market share of American soybeans.

The EU is, along with China, the largest buyer of US soybeans. However, the Union is announcing its first retaliatory tariffs in response to the US tariff policy. This is likely to have a negative impact on US soybean sales. The US is the world’s second-largest soybean supplier after Brazil. With a national production of just under 119 million tonnes, around 50 million tonnes of US soybeans are expected to be exported across the world’s oceans in the 2024/25 season. China is the main buyer, but the European Union, which is the second-largest market for the US, also plays a significant role. According to the EU Commission, the Union imported a total of 13.1 million tonnes of soybeans from abroad in the past marketing year. Of these, around 5.9 million tonnes came from Brazil. 5.3 million tonnes were imported from the US, accounting for almost 41% of the total import volume. The current season has shown a different picture. By 16 March 2025, the EU had imported around 9.6 million ...