**4.3 Soybean meal**

378 Soybean Physiology and Biochemistry

Asian countries concentrate most of the Argentine oil demand due to the importance of their growing economy and to the fact that these countries had consumption levels per capita lower than the world average. China (45%)29, India (14%), Bangladesh (6%), Egypt (5%), Peru (5%) are the most relevant destinations of the exported oil by Argentina (2010). Seventy eigh percent of the oil imports and 22% of the soybean imports of China have their origin in Argentina. This shows the strategic importance of soybean and its byproducts in the

11,43 13,49

37,86 39,67 42,88 41,71 43,29 46,12 46,32 47,38 45,56 44,77

2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 Soybean Oil Meal

Fig. 6. Soybean. Argentina share of the world grain, oil and meal exports. (%) 2000/01-

Cargill 28,42 Nidera Arg. 3,12 Bunge Argentina 18,15 Aceitera C.A. 2,65 Aceitera Gral. Deheza 14,80 Oleag. Moreno 1,44

Vicentin 3,31 A.F.A. 1,22

Table 5. Soybean Argentina. Soybean oil exporting companies. Total export share 2008.

29 Due to the commercial restrictions imposed by China to the Argentine oil, the exports were drifted to

30 The exports participation of the first eight companies (C8) is: 81% for grain, 87% for oil and 97%.for

Dreyfus 10,91 Cia. Argentina

Finally , after a study of the soybean oil exports per company (Table 5) it comes out that the soybean exports market structure is an oligopoly30, with foreign capital predomination

57,32 56,51

17,57

total oil exported (%) Company Soybean oil share of

de Granos 1,39

7,27

53,02 51,71 48,98

14,11

total oil exported (%)

commercial relationship between China and Argentina.

44,65 44,13 44,57

(transnational companies) (Eumercopol, 2007).

Mol. Río de la Plata 10,36

Source: CIARA (2011)

soybean meal.

Company Soybean oil share of

the markets in India, Bangladesh and Iran at a lower price.

0,00 10,00 20,00 30,00 40,00 50,00 60,00 70,00

2009/10.

13,61 11,27 14,08 12,03 14,76

48,72

52,34

As in oil, Argentina is the main exporting country with 29 million tons over an exporting total of 59.4 million (Figure 7). Thus, Argentina keps -in a stable way- 44--46% (see Figure 6) of the total meal exports, followed by Brazil (23%) and the United States (14%). According to USDA for 2010/11 season, Argentina share in soybean meal export would reach 49.3%.

Argentina exports almost all its soybean meal production (between 93% and 97%), mainly to the UE-27 countries for animal feeding. The European problem with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, known as the "mad cow disease", put an end to the cattle feeding with animal proteins and intensified the demand of substitute products like the soybean meal.

Fig. 7. Argentina. Soybean meal. Production and exports (2000/2001-2010/2011).

If the soybean meal exports by each company is examined (Table 6). The first five companies participate with 78.5% of the total national exports. It can be seen that the first four meal exporting companies are the same as the first four oil exporting companies being Cargill the first (28.4% in oil and 23% in meal, 2008).


Source, CIARA (2009)

Table 6. Soybean Argentina. Exporting soybean meal companies .Participation in the total exported .2008.
