The U.S., one of the world’s leading soybean suppliers alongside Argentina and Brazil, set a new record for soybean meal exports in the 2024/25 marketing year. According to data released by the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC), total U.S. soy exports rose nearly 13% year on year, with soybean meal volumes outpacing both whole beans and oil exports. Turkey emerged as one of the fastest-growing destinations over the past five years, underscoring shifting trade flows and renewed market access.

The United States exported 16.3 million metric tons of soybean meal in MY 2024/25, a 13.9% increase over the previous year, setting a new record. United States Depart of Agriculture (USDA) Global Agricultural Trade System figures, cited by USSEC, confirm the growth. Meal represented a substantial share of the total 68.7 million metric tons of the U.S. soy complex, valued at $29.6 billion. Whole soybean shipments reached 51.2 million metric tons, while soybean oil exports, though smaller in absolute terms, rose sharply to 1.1 million metric tons.

The performance of soybean meal stands out not only in volume but also in consistency. While whole bean exports grew steadily, meal exports surpassed both the year-on-year trend and the five-year average, reflecting strong downstream demand from livestock, poultry, and aquaculture sectors. Key destinations for U.S. soybean meal included the Philippines, Mexico, Colombia, and Canada, markets where feed demand continues to expand alongside animal protein production.

Trade flows for the broader soy complex continued to diversify. China remained the single largest market overall, but growth across the Americas, the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia contributed to the year’s gains. Lower soybean prices also stimulated import demand, improving affordability for buyers even as farm-level margins remained under pressure in the U.S. 

TURKEY RECORDS FASTEST GROWTH: 5-YEAR INCREASE 342%

Turkey featured prominently among the fastest-growing markets for U.S. soy products over the past five years, with cumulative growth exceeding 300%, according to USSEC data. While the scale of Turkey’s imports remains modest compared with major Asian buyers, the pace of increase is notable. Industry sources point to a combination of expanding domestic feed demand and the easing of earlier regulatory constraints on genetically modified soy imports, which had previously limited trade flows.

Beyond Turkey, several emerging markets posted robust gains. Vietnam, Bangladesh, Venezuela and Colombia all recorded significant increases, largely linked to rising per-capita protein consumption and the scaling up of poultry, pork and aquaculture production. These trends have supported demand for imported soybean meal and, in some cases, led to new investments in local crushing capacity. 

GLOBAL PROTEIN MEAL MARKETS FACE INTENSIFYING COMPETITION

Globally, the record U.S. soybean meal exports come at a time of intensifying competition among major suppliers. South America, led by Brazil and Argentina, remains dominant in soybean and meal exports, benefiting from large harvests and proximity to key markets. At the same time, Black Sea oilseed producers are expanding sunflower and rapeseed meal availability, offering alternative protein sources for feed formulators. While these alternatives are often lower in price, U.S. soybean meal maintains a superior essential amino acid profile—specifically higher lysine and methionine bypass values—and lower fiber content, which typically results in better feed conversion ratios in high-performance poultry and swine diets. Against this backdrop, the ability of global markets to absorb rising U.S. meal output reflects both resilient feed demand and a tighter balance between protein meals, rather than an absence of competition.