EU soybean harvest just below previous year

The EU Commission has suggested that this year’s soybean harvest in the EU-27 fell slightly short of the previous year's level, despite an expansion in the production area for the 2024 harvest.
The decrease primarily reflects a decline in harvest in Romania.
In its latest estimate, the EU Commission marginally lowered its forecast for soybean production in the EU.
The Commission put the 2024 soybean harvest at just under 2.8 million tonnes, which is down 10,000 tonnes on the previous year despite a 10% increase in production area.
The key reason for the decline was lower yields due to unfavourable growing conditions throughout the year. The EU average yield of 25.7 decitonnes per hectare not only fell short of the previous year's result of 28.3 decitonnes per hectare but was also shy of the long-term average of 28.1 decitonnes per hectare.
The Balkan states, especially Romania, recorded the sharpest declines in yield. In Romania, drought conditions led to a 44% slump to 171,000 tonnes compared to the previous year, despite a nearly 10% increase in acreage. Hungary's soybean output is estimated at 260,000 tonnes, representing a 50% rise year-on-year. However, considering the doubling of the country's production area, this result also remains below expectations.
According to research by Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft, Italian farms produced 1 million tonnes of soybeans, almost 5% less than in 2023. Nevertheless, Italy remains the number one soybean producer in the EU, notwithstanding an almost 3 per cent reduction in soybean area compared to the previous year.