EN 
PT_BR 
After three consecutive months of decline, soybean meal prices stabilized in May on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), closing the period at US$1.5T per ton. Even so, the market still lacks the strength to resume a consistent upward movement. According to the June Monthly Agro Bulletin from Itaú BBA's Agro Consultancy, in the first half of June, soybean meal showed a slight recovery, supported by the appreciation of soybean oil.
Oil, in turn, continued to rise in May, rising 2.9%, quoted at 48.92 cents per pound. The movement reflects expectations of changes in the United States' biodiesel program, which point to more ambitious blending targets in the coming years. The possible increase in demand for vegetable oil drives prices in the international market.
In Brazil, the scenario is the opposite. Soybean meal prices fell 3.2% in May and another 2.7% in the first half of June in markets such as Rondonópolis, in Mato Grosso. The decline is linked to the high supply, resulting from the increase in soybean crushing — and to a slower demand in the domestic market. According to data from the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (Abiove), meal consumption registered a sharp decline in April.
The figures show that soybean processing in the country continued to grow, with 5.3 million tons crushed in April, an increase of 9% compared to the same month last year. This increase, combined with lower domestic consumption, contributed to the increase in bran stocks, which jumped from 2.2 to 2.9 million tons, the largest volume in Abiove's historical series.
The weaker demand may be related to the estimated reduction of 4% in cattle, pig and poultry slaughter, which reduces the rate of use of bran in feed formulation. As a result, the market is under pressure
for a surplus of product.
In the case of soybean oil in the domestic market, there was also a decline: a drop of 1.7% in the partial of June in Mato Grosso, with the product quoted at R$ 5,705 per ton. The decline is mainly driven by the slow demand from the biodiesel sector, which has not yet fully reacted to the signals of an increase in blending targets in the United States.
Despite the good performance of the crushing sector, the Brazilian market faces challenges with excess product and demand that remains below what is necessary to sustain prices in the short term.
