USDA Oilseed Crush Report: April Soybean Crush at 5.43Mt, Better than Expected
WASHINGTON, June 5: The U.S. soybean crush in April 2022 was higher than industry expectations, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly oilseed processing report released on Wednesday.
The report showed U.S. soybean crush at 5.43 million short tons (181 million bushels) in April, down from 5.79 million short tons (193 million bushels) in March, but up from 5.1 million short tons (170 million bushels) in April 2021 Pu), which is also the second-highest record for the same period in history, just below the record for the same period in April 2020.
Before the report, analysts were expecting a soybean crush of 5.26 million short tons in April, with analysts’ forecasts ranging from 178.5 million to 182.0 million, with a median of 180.5 million.
For comparison, member companies of the National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) crushed 169.788 million bushels of soybeans in April, down 6.6% from the previous month, but up 5.9% year-on-year, setting a second-highest record for the same period in history. The soybeans processed by NOPA member companies account for about 95% of the country’s total.
Despite the lucrative crushing, soybean crushing slowed in April due to seasonal maintenance by some manufacturers.
U.S. soybean crush profit was $4.47 a bushel in the week ended April 29, down from $4.81 a month earlier, but still 73.26 percent higher than a year earlier, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The USDA’s May Supply and Demand Report forecast U.S. soybean crush in 2021/22 at 2.215 billion bushels, unchanged from the April forecast and 3.5% higher than the 2020/21 crush of 2.141 billion bushels. The 2022/23 soybean crush will increase to 2.255 billion bushels.