Soybean margins remain high due to rising energy prices.

The correlation between petroleum and vegetable oils should continue to support the soybean complex. With rising oil prices, expectations for demand for raw materials used in biofuel production increase, which has primarily sustained soybean oil in the international market. This movement also affects soybean meal, since crushing margins influence the price relationship between the derivatives.

Currently, the mandatory percentage of biodiesel blended with fossil diesel is 15%. According to the biofuel policy schedule, the increase to 16% was planned for March 1st, but it was not implemented. Given the recent rise in oil and diesel prices, the industry has begun advocating for an increase in the blend to 17% as a way to mitigate the impact on fuel prices.

In recent months, soybean crushing margins in Brazil and the United States have remained high, supported by a combination of relatively lower grain prices and increased value of by-products, especially oil. This scenario has kept the oil share of total processing value above the historical average.

In Brazil, in addition to the performance of soybean derivatives, the ample supply of soybeans during the harvest season has reinforced the competitiveness of domestic crushing. For the coming months, maintaining these margins will depend on the evolution of demand for derivatives, especially oil, and the behavior of grain prices throughout the second half of the year, in a scenario still marked by volatility in energy markets.