Brazilian soybean harvest set to hit another record high

South America is further consolidating its share of the global soybean market in this crop year.
Brazil is expected to record another bumper crop, whereas the Argentine crop is projected to fall short of the previous year's output.
Brazil, the US and Argentina are the world's main producers of soybeans, collectively accounting for 80% of global production. China follows a long way behind with a market share of 5%.
According to a USDA estimate, Brazil is expected to harvest an all-time record of 178 million tonnes of soybeans in the current crop year, which compares around 171.5 million tonnes in the previous year.
Based on a 1.7 million hectares expansion of soybean area to 49.1 million hectares, Brazil is consolidating its position as the world's number one soybean producer ahead of the US.
In the US, the soybean harvest was already complete by the end of 2025, totalling around 116.0 million tonnes. This translates to a year-on-year decline of roughly 3.1 million tonnes.
Argentina, which ranks third among the world's most important producers, is also projected to record a slightly smaller harvest than in the previous year. According to Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft, the country is expected to harvest 48.5 million tonnes, a decrease of around 2.6 million tonnes compared with the previous year.
In contrast, the latest USDA estimates indicate that China's harvest will rise around 0.3 million tonnes from the previous year, reaching 20.9 million tonnes.
The Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen (UFOP) has voiced concerns about the continued expansion of cropland for soybean cultivation in Brazil, adding that even at this stage, it is clear that the European Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR) is ineffective, even though it has not yet formally entered into force.