A report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture predicts that soybean crush in Thailand will remain below pre-pandemic levels in the years 2023-24 and 2024-25. The report, released on April 5, forecasts a 2% growth in soybean crush in 2023-24 and a 3% growth in 2024-25, compared to the average annual growth rate of 5% prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite this moderate increase in demand, soybean crush in Thailand is expected to reach only 2.43 million tonnes in 2024-25, with imports mainly from Brazil meeting soybean demand in the country. Four active soybean crushers in Thailand have a combined daily capacity of 12,500 tonnes but are operating at only 70% capacity. The crushers primarily produce cooking oil, with soybean meal for animal feed serving as another key revenue stream.
However, current high inventories of full fat soybeans held by crushers in Thailand are due to lower than expected domestic consumption of cooking oil and animal feed following an economic slowdown. Despite an increase in demand for full fat soybeans used for feed rations over the next two years, the annual demand for full fat soybeans remains below pre-pandemic levels due to slow recovery swine production after African swine fever outbreak.