China ASF Slowly Declining U.S. Soybean Meal Demand

Last week’s USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report left grain export demand numbers basically unchanged, which wasn’t much of a surprise to the marketplace, as that’s not unusual for the March WASDE report. But a deeper look shows there’s reason to suspect African Swine Fever (ASF) in China’s hog herd could start causing more of a decline in soybean export demand as the nation works to get the disease under control. The soybean meal market has been trending lower, and given China is such a large player in that sector, that trend could continue. How South American farmers overcome current soybean production challenges — and consequently affect global soybean supplies — and estimates for the U.S. crop size coming later this month from USDA will contribute to the soybean and meal pricing trends moving further into spring, analysts say. See more.