Soy bean crushing figures in the US rose slightly in September on August to beat trade expectations but soyoil stocks were drawn down.
According to a report this week from the American Soybean Association, the US Census Bureau put figures for the September crush at 3.46 million tonnes, a lift from the 3.4 million tonnes reported in August.
Tough market conditions in soyoil continue. Soyoil stocks were drawn down more than the trade had expected, dropping to 674 thousand tonnes, said the ASA.
"There's continued strong demand for oil, both in domestic and export sectors. For the third year in a row, US soyoil stocks have continued downward, which is not a usual trend for soyoil stocks, analysts said," reports the ASA.
The last time soyoil stocks fell in three consecutive years was 50 years ago, added the association. Excellent meal buying last month has been the key factor for the rising margins.
The agri-giants in the US have felt the impact of soyoil figures on their margins. Last week Bunge saw profits slip as the company bore the brunt of weaker soy crops in the US due to drought and reduced yields.
Further evidence that price pressure on soy is squeezing the margins for food ingredients companies came this week as the newly formed Solae Company - a joint venture between Bunge and DuPont - said that it had raised the price of its soy-based lecithin product portfolio by 5 to 8 per cent.
According to the company, the leap in price effective from yesterday, is a result of recent escalation in the cost of manufacturing, rising energy costs, and a variety of increases in the cost of ingredients, transportation and packaging.
"We looked at other options to avoid passing on any of these increased costs to our valued customers," said Jack Self, global business lead - lecithin at the Solae Company. "However, external factors made a price increase unavoidable."