US soyabean exports to Indonesia jumped nearly 20 percent to around one million tonnes in the marketing year to August and are expected to remain steady this year, a senior US industry official said on Tuesday. Indonesia, which buys soyabeans mainly for its food industry, is likely to snap up US cargoes in the months ahead on lack of supplies from drought-stricken Latin America, said John Lindblom, regional director of the American Soyabean Association.
"The biggest market (in Southeast Asia) is Indonesia and we certainly see that strong," he told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry seminar in Cebu. Lindblom said Thailand, which usually imports Brazilian soyabeans, was also expected to take more US cargoes over the next six months, or at least until South American supplies reach the market.
"With shortage of beans right now, shipments for the crushing industry in Thailand should rise." Thailand, which consumes around two million tonnes of soyabeans a year, grows around 300,000 tonnes and meets the bulk of its requirement through imports. The 6th US-Southeast Asia Agricultural Co-operators conference, which began on Monday in Cebu, Philippines, brings together US grain exporters and Asian buyers to share information and do business.
The meeting is being hosted by the American Soyabean Association and the US Grains Council. Lindblom said US soyameal exports to Southeast Asia are expected to rise, given the fact Argentina is out of the market, with Thailand expected to take 100,000 to March, compared with 100,000 tonnes for the whole of the marketing year to August. Typically, Indian and South American suppliers dominate the Southeast Asian soyameal market.