The National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) issued its mid-month member crush and stocks report on Friday March 15. The February data showed that members crushed 4,205 MT, or approximately 154.5 million bushels, in the month. This is a new monthly record ahead of 4,184 MT, or about 153.7 million bushels, crushed last February. On a per-day basis, crush slowed slightly to pace about 150,200 tonnes per day down from 150,700 tonnes/day in January. The monthly chart that follows shows that U.S. soybean processors have maintained historic-crush rates in recent months thanks to strong processing margins and ample domestic soybean supplies.
As a result of the crush, NOPA members produced about 819,000 tonnes of soybean oil along with 3,292 thousand tonnes of soybean meal in the month. Implied product yields saw a modest up-tick for soybean oil while the soybean meal yield rose considerably from the member data for January. It will be of particular interest to the soybean complex if future data confirms rising soybean yield data in the coming months as this could help to curb crush rates once competition from new-crop Argentine soybean meal comes to the market to compete with U.S. supplies in the coming months.
