The soy harvest in Europe has increased by almost one million tons this year compared to 2023 to more than 13 million tons, as the new Donau Soja Market Report November shows. This record value is due to the strong expansion of cultivated areas by 44% and the record harvest in Ukraine of almost six million tons – an increase of around 25%. In the EU, the cultivated area increased by 10% compared to 2023. However, the EU harvest fell by 3.4% to just under 2.8 million tons. The reason for this is the lower yields per hectare in Central Europe and some Balkan states due to the summer heat and drought. Serbia and Romania are particularly affected this year, where yields per hectare are expected to be up to 50% lower than last year. “The expanded soy cultivation area in Europe and the strong harvest in Ukraine can compensate for the losses caused by the weather extremes in the EU and parts of southeastern Europe and lead to a total record harvest of more than 13 million tons of soy in Europe“, says Susanne Fromwald, Secretary General of Donau Soja.
Slight harvest decline in Austria and Germany
For Austria, expectations fell by more than 11% to 240,000 tons due to the extreme rainfall last September, as entire fields were washed away. The yield per hectare, however, corresponds to the long-term average and the quality of the beans is consistently good. In In Germany, the cultivated area fell by 10%, but the harvest fell by only 3.1% to 125,000 tons due to the very good yields per hectare. “Especially in Germany, we see great potential to increase soybean cultivation areas, not least with new varieties that can also grow further north,” says Fromwald.
Ukraine is the largest soy supplier in Europe
As in previous years, Ukraine is the largest and most important European supplier of soy for feed for EU livestock farming. The soybean area was 2.6 million hectares in 2024, an increase of almost 44% compared to 2023. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture, Donau Soja experts estimate the total harvest volume to be more than six million tons. About ten percent of these are certified by Donau Soja. “The EU’s level of self-sufficiency in soya is currently only 8%. GMO-free Danube Soy certified soy from Ukraine helps fill the large gap in protein crops in Europe. Certified Ukrainian and EU soybeans are also produced under the same strict standards by Donau Soja and are therefore not ‘cheap competition’ for farmers in EU countries“, so Fromwald.
One million tons of soy in Europe certified according to Donau Soja standards
In total, in 2024, of the more than 13 million tons of soy produced in Europe, around one million tons were certified according to the strict standards of Donau Soja, i.e. free of genetic engineering and deforestation, even without the conversion of land to agricultural land, less use of pesticides was necessary and international labor law standards were established fulfilled.
Global soy production in the 2024/2025 marketing year is estimated at a total of 425 million tons. The EU imports around 35 million tons of soy every year. Most of these imports are genetically modified soy from overseas, used as livestock feed, endangering regions such as the Cerrado savannah or the Gran Chaco.
The new Donau Soja Market Report November can be requested from Donau Soja, email: petri@donausoja.org.
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