Thailand’s soy crush hindered by slow economy

According to a report from the Global Agricultural Information Network, Thailand’s soybean crush is expected to see slow growth in the coming years due to a sluggish economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite projections of a 2% increase in 2023-24 and a 3% increase in 2024-25, these figures fall well below the five-year average prior to the pandemic.

With annual soybean production in Thailand averaging around 50,000 to 60,000 tonnes, the country relies heavily on imports to meet its demand. Most of these imports come from Brazil, with projections indicating an increase to 3.3 million tonnes in 2024-25.

The majority of soybeans in Thailand are crushed for cooking oil, with four active crushers in the country having a combined daily capacity of 12,500 tonnes. However, economic slowdowns have led to lower consumption of cooking oil and soybean meal for animal feed, resulting in high soybean inventories for the crushers.

Despite the slow recovery in swine production in 2023 and 2024, demand for full fat soybeans is expected to increase by around 3% annually in the coming years. However, this demand is still below average levels seen prior to the 2021-22 African swine fever outbreak.