Argentina Soybean Meal Exports: COFCO, Bunge & Global Supply

Argentina's Soybean Meal Export Dominance: How COFCO, Bunge, and Local Crushers Supply Global Markets

Argentina's grip on global soybean meal exports is structural, not incidental. The country's crushing industry — concentrated along a 460-kilometre stretch of the Paraná River from Timbúes to Buenos Aires — processes more soybeans than any other single geography exports as meal. With 2025/26 crush volumes estimated at 43 million tonnes per USDA FAS data, and meal exports projected near 29 million metric tonnes (MMT), Argentina consistently supplies approximately 34–35% of global soybean meal trade. For feed compounders in Vietnam, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and Ireland sourcing soybean meal at scale, Argentina is not one origin among several — it is the default reference market.

The Rosario Crushing Belt: Why Geography Created an Export Machine

Argentina's dominance in soybean meal exports is inseparable from the industrial geography of the Rosario cluster. The Paraná River, dredged to a minimum depth of 34 feet from Timbúes to Buenos Aires, allows ocean-going vessels to load directly at crushing facilities without transshipment. This single logistical feature — deep-river access at the point of production — eliminates the inland haulage cost that Brazilian and U.S. crushers must absorb when moving meal from inland processing sites to coast ports.

The Rosario hub's 22 crushing plants collectively process approximately 157,500 tonnes of soybeans per day, per Reuters data. This concentrated capacity generates meal volumes that no other single port complex can match, and it operates at a scale that makes Argentina's FOB Up River pricing — assessed by S&P Global Commodity Insights and Fastmarkets — the global reference benchmark for soybean meal trade. When meal demand rises in Southeast Asia or the EU, buyers and traders look first to Up River price movements before assessing alternative origins.

COFCO, Bunge, Cargill, and LDC: How the ABCD+ Players Operate in Argentina

The crushing operations along the Paraná are not distributed evenly across independent processors — they are dominated by a small group of multinational traders whose Argentine capacity underpins their global meal supply positions.

Bunge is one of Argentina's largest soybean processors, with Rosario-area facilities capable of processing 18,000 tonnes of soybeans per day, per the Rosario Grains Exchange. Bunge operates as a market leader across Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay in oilseed processing. In 2025, Bunge (now merged with Viterra) participated in the VISEC Soy Europe pilot, shipping traceable, deforestation-free soybean meal to European buyers — positioning its Argentine operations as EUDR-compliant sourcing infrastructure.

COFCO International, the overseas agribusiness platform of COFCO Corp. — China's largest food and agriculture company — operates its Timbúes port terminal on the Paraná River north of Rosario. In May 2024, COFCO International Argentina loaded 18,000 tonnes of certified deforestation-free soybean meal at Timbúes, delivering the first fully traceable EUDR-aligned soy meal shipment to R&H Hall, Ireland's largest feed manufacturer, aboard the MV Dublin Eagle. This shipment was significant not merely as a compliance milestone but as a commercial signal: COFCO's Argentine infrastructure is now configured to serve both European regulatory requirements and, increasingly, Chinese feed buyers — with a 30,000-tonne trial shipment to China organised by Bunge following in July 2025.

Cargill and Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) also maintain significant crushing capacity in the Up River cluster. LDC's Timbúes agro-industrial complex recently added a new milling line capable of processing 3,000 additional tonnes per day of high-oil seeds including camelina, carinata, canola, and sunflower — complementing its core soybean crushing capacity and improving facility utilization during inter-harvest periods.

Together, these four multinational operators — often called the "ABCD" traders plus COFCO — control the infrastructure through which the majority of Argentina's soybean meal exports move. Their combined origination networks, port terminal access, and global trading positions mean that most large-volume feed buyers engage with Argentine soybean meal primarily through these channels rather than through independent Argentine processors.

Key Export Destinations and Buyer Profiles

Argentina's soybean meal exports flow predominantly to Southeast Asia, Europe, and, increasingly, China. Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia collectively account for a substantial share of import volumes, driven by the region's poultry and aquaculture expansion. USDA projections indicate ASEAN will account for approximately one-third of global soybean meal imports by 2028, with import volumes from Indonesia and Vietnam rising from 14.4 MMT in 2023/24 to a projected 17.3 MMT by 2032/33. Argentina has historically been the primary supplier to these markets, with Bunge, ADM, and LDC securing long-term supply relationships with integrated poultry producers and feed compounders across the region.

The European Union represents Argentina's second-largest regional export destination and its most compliance-intensive market. Feed manufacturers in Ireland, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands have historically sourced Argentine meal as a cost-competitive alternative to Brazilian and U.S. origin, but the EUDR — which requires full traceability to farm level for soy products placed on the EU market — is reshaping how that trade is structured. COFCO and Bunge/Viterra's early investments in EUDR-aligned supply chains through the VISEC platform have given Argentina a first-mover positioning advantage over Brazilian origins, where farm-level traceability infrastructure is less uniformly in place.

China's re-entry as a direct buyer of Argentine soybean meal marks the most significant demand shift in 2025. In November 2025 per trade sources, China cleared its first Argentine soybean meal cargo since 2019, ending a six-year hiatus driven by phytosanitary disputes. The 30,000-tonne trial cargo organised by Bunge in July 2025, priced at approximately $360/tonne including freight, demonstrated that Argentine meal can reach Chinese feed manufacturers at a competitive landed cost relative to U.S. origin — particularly relevant given the ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions that have periodically disrupted American soy exports.

Feed manufacturers and animal nutrition buyers sourcing soybean meal from Argentine origin should note that procurement typically flows through the multinational traders' commercial desks rather than directly from crush operators. For buyers requiring documentation including protein content certificates (typically 44–48% crude protein depending on grade), moisture analysis, anti-nutritional factor testing, and EUDR-compliant traceability records, direct engagement with the trading entities — or with distributors who hold established supply relationships with those traders — is the most reliable route to consistent documentation and volume availability. Tradeasia International, a Singapore-headquartered global commodity and chemical distributor with over 20 years of supply chain experience, sources and distributes soybean meal to feed compounders, animal nutrition manufacturers, and aquaculture producers across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and South Asia, with documentation support including protein content COAs, moisture analysis, and origin traceability. Buyers managing procurement across multiple feed applications can contact Tradeasia International for volume pricing, grade specifications, and logistics coordination.

Policy Risk and the Currency Constraint

Argentina's export dominance carries a structural vulnerability that every large-volume buyer must factor into their procurement strategy: policy-driven supply volatility. Export taxes on soybean meal have fluctuated repeatedly, most recently cut from 33% to 26% in January 2025 to stimulate export competitiveness. The temporary nature of these adjustments — with rates reverting by mid-2025 — creates periods of compressed export flow as farmers withhold grain in anticipation of tax changes, followed by accelerated crush and export activity once tax rates stabilize.

The peso exchange rate compounds this dynamic. Argentine farmers and crushers routinely time their soybean sales against currency movements, creating seasonal patterns of supply availability that do not always align with buyer procurement schedules. When the gap between Argentina's official peso exchange rate and informal market rates widens, export flow slows — a pattern that drove the slowest soybean sales pace in over a decade in early 2025, when only 20% of the projected 48.6 MMT harvest had been sold by early April. Buyers with Q1–Q2 delivery windows in Southeast Asia and Europe should anticipate this seasonality and build buffer stocks or forward coverage accordingly, particularly in years when Argentine crop conditions generate late harvest timing.

EUDR Traceability and What Buyers Must Now Demand

The EU Deforestation Regulation has permanently elevated documentation requirements for Argentine soybean meal entering European markets. Under the EUDR, feed manufacturers and importers must demonstrate that the soybeans crushed into their meal did not originate from land deforested after December 2020, and that production complied with local environmental and human rights laws. Argentina's VISEC platform — backed by The Nature Conservancy, funded in part by the Land Innovation Fund, and already used by COFCO, Bunge, and Viterra — provides the farm-level georeferenced monitoring and verification system through which this compliance is documented.

For buyers sourcing Argentine soybean meal into the EU, EUDR compliance is no longer optional or prospective — it is a purchasing prerequisite. The VISEC pilot tracked over 46,000 tonnes of soy from more than 570 farms with full traceability to export ports. Buyers should confirm with their Argentine suppliers whether their supply chain is VISEC-enrolled and whether the documentation package includes farm-level geo-coordinates, deforestation-free attestation for the specific crop year, and segregation confirmation from farm to port.

Outlook: Argentina's Position Into 2026

Argentina's soybean crush for 2025/26 is estimated at 43 million tonnes per USDA FAS, supported by strong margins, robust meal demand, and sustained plant utilization. The 2024/25 harvest of 49.9 million tonnes was the country's largest in six years, underscoring the resilience of its production base despite the weather volatility of recent seasons. With soybean meal exports projected near 29 MMT in 2025/26, Argentina's structural position as the world's largest soybean meal exporter is unlikely to shift — but the competitive environment around it is intensifying. U.S. crush capacity is expanding sharply, driven by renewable diesel demand, and Brazil's crushing industry is adding volume as domestic oilseed production grows. Both origins are competing directly for Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia — markets where Argentina has historically held a freight and pricing advantage.

Industrial buyers with long-term Argentine meal supply arrangements should lock in term coverage ahead of Q4, when farmer selling hesitation and seasonal currency dynamics historically compress availability. Buyers entering Argentine soybean meal procurement for the first time — whether for poultry feed, aquaculture formulation, or ruminant nutrition — should prioritize counterparties with established Up River port relationships and EUDR-documented supply chains, as documentation capability is now as commercially relevant as price. Tradeasia International supports feed manufacturers and animal nutrition buyers across Asia, the Middle East, and South Asia in sourcing soybean meal with grade-specific protein documentation, multi-origin supply options, and logistics coordination across key import markets. Buyers evaluating Argentine origin alongside Brazilian or U.S. alternatives can contact Tradeasia International for comparative specifications, origin documentation, and volume pricing.

FAQ

What is soybean meal and what is it used for? Soybean meal is the protein-rich co-product of soybean oil extraction, typically containing 44–48% crude protein. It is the primary plant-based protein source in commercial animal feed globally, used in poultry, swine, ruminant, and aquaculture diets due to its favorable amino acid profile, digestibility, and cost efficiency relative to other protein meals.

Why does Argentina dominate global soybean meal exports? Argentina's dominance stems from its integrated crushing infrastructure along the Paraná River — where 22 plants process approximately 157,500 tonnes of soybeans per day — combined with deep-river access that allows ocean-going vessels to load directly at the point of crushing, eliminating inland haulage costs. Argentina consistently supplies approximately 34–35% of global soybean meal trade, with 2025/26 exports projected near 29 MMT per USDA FAS.

Who are the major soybean meal crushers operating in Argentina? The largest operators in Argentina's soybean crushing sector are the multinational ABCD traders plus COFCO International: Bunge (18,000 tonnes/day at its Rosario facilities), COFCO International (operating the Timbúes terminal on the Paraná), Cargill, and Louis Dreyfus Company, whose Timbúes complex recently added multi-oilseed milling capacity. These four operators handle the majority of Argentina's soybean meal export volumes.

What are the main export destinations for Argentine soybean meal? Southeast Asia is the largest regional destination — Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia are the primary buyers, driven by poultry and aquaculture industry expansion. The EU is the second-largest destination, with Ireland, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands as key importers. China re-entered the market in 2025 after a six-year absence linked to phytosanitary disputes, with a 30,000-tonne trial shipment organized by Bunge in July 2025.

How does Argentina's export tax policy affect soybean meal supply availability? Argentina's export tax rates on soybean meal fluctuate with government policy, reaching as low as 26% after a January 2025 cut from 33%. Farmers and crushers respond to tax changes by timing their soybean sales, creating seasonal compression and acceleration in export flow. Buyers with Q1–Q2 delivery requirements should anticipate reduced availability during tax transition periods and build buffer coverage accordingly.

What is EUDR compliance and how does it affect Argentine soybean meal sourcing? The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requires buyers importing soybean meal into the EU to demonstrate the soybeans were not sourced from land deforested after December 2020. Argentina's VISEC platform — used by COFCO International, Bunge, and Viterra — provides farm-level traceability and deforestation-free certification for Argentine soy. COFCO loaded the first fully EUDR-aligned traceable soybean meal shipment from Timbúes in May 2024, destined for R&H Hall in Ireland.

Where can feed manufacturers source Argentine soybean meal? Tradeasia International sources and distributes soybean meal to feed compounders, animal nutrition manufacturers, and aquaculture producers across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and South Asia. With over 20 years of supply chain experience and regional presence across Singapore, India, Indonesia, and Thailand, Tradeasia International provides protein content COAs, origin documentation, and multi-origin supply options including Argentine, Brazilian, and U.S. origin meal. Contact Tradeasia International for grade specifications, logistics coordination, and volume pricing.