Africa’s soybean industry is not well established

• We hardly write about Africa’s soybean industry because the production of the crop is not yet fully established in most countries. South Africa, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Egypt are the only African countries amongst the world’s top 40 soybean producers, according to data from the USDA.
• South Africa is the only African country with production over a million tonnes. In the current season, the crop is estimated at 1.4 million tonnes. This has materialised due to an increase in area planted, technological improvements in forms of seeds, fertilizers and better farming practices, amongst others. As set out in our soybean note on 30 April 2018, a large number of South African farmers are increasingly planting genetically modified (GM) soybean crops.
• In 2016/17 production season, roughly 95 percent of South Africa’s soybean plantings were under GM seeds. This is the only country in the African continent that produces GM soybeans. Therefore, it is no coincidence that South Africa continues to enjoy tremendous growth in soybean output, while production in other African countries remains negligible. The closest to South Africa’s production level is Nigeria, where output averaged 640 000 tonnes over the past 5-seasons.
• The most recent data from the USDA shows that Nigeria’s 2017/18 soybean production could amount to 600 000 tonnes, roughly unchanged from the previous season due to unfavourable weather conditions over the past few months. This is slightly below Nigeria’s annual consumption of 610 000 tonnes of soybeans.
• Moreover, Zambia’s and Zimbabwe’s 2017/18 soybean production could amount to 300 000 tonnes and 50 000 tonnes, respectively down by 15 percent and 29 percent from the previous production season. The decline in production in both countries is due to unfavourable weather conditions earlier in the season. The soybean production in both Uganda and Egypt is negligible, estimated at 30 000 tonnes and 25 000 tonnes, respectively. 

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Agbiz Morning Market Viewpoint on Agri-Commodities 22 May 2018