Vienna/Berlin/Bern. The summer forecasts for the 2023 soya harvest were exceeded after this year’s harvest was brought in. The record high in Europe this year is forecasted to 12.2 million tonnes of soya. This is shown in the latest Donau Soja Market Report November, which was published yesterday. The European harvest volume has increased by almost a quarter compared to the previous year. The largest increases were recorded in Ukraine, with a rise of almost one million tonnes, up 20% to 4.8 million tonnes. The soya harvest in the EU countries also increased by 740,000 tonnes to more than 3 million tonnes. The soya cultivation area in the EU remained roughly the same this year, but the harvest volume in the EU countries nevertheless increased by more than a third. The global soya harvest is projected to 400 million tonnes in the current marketing season (2023/24). “The majority of the soya used in the EU still comes from non-certified sources overseas, where deforestation might be involved. We see great potential for the expansion of regional, European, GMO-free and sustainably produced soya value chains both in the EU and in European non-EU countries”, explains Donau Soja President Matthias Krön.
Record harvests in Germany and Austria
The reason for the massive increase in harvests was the 20% expansion of soya cultivation areas in Ukraine and the favourable situation of rainfall and dry periods in the EU, which massively increased the yield per hectare. The better precipitation and harvest conditions in 2023 were also felt in Austria and Germany. Although the area under cultivation (Austria minus 6.4%; Germany minus 12.8%) fell this year, the harvest volume increased by 9.4% (Austria) and 9.6% (Germany). The harvest in Germany this year amounts to 140,000 tonnes, in Austria 267,000 tonnes. This means that Austria produces roughly twice as much soya as Germany. In view of the favourable developments, Donau Soja expects an expanded soya cultivation area in 2024.
New Multicrop Report
A new “Multicrop Report” has recently been published, which includes non-GMO maize and rapeseed in addition to soya. This report is a joint project between Donau Soja, ProTerra Foundation and the European Non-GMO Industry Association (ENGA) and will be published quarterly. It contains the latest developments, harvest figures and market prices. Link to the Multicrop Report
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Download graph development of soya output in Europe
Download graph development of soya output in the Ukraine
The Donau Soja Market Report
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Franko Petri
Head of Communications Donau Soja
Ph: +43-1-5121744-24
Mobile: +43-664-88961298
Email: petri@donausoja.org
