Russia maps out largest soybean plant

A source from the Kaliningrad region's agriculture department is said to have told the newswire that a $100 million soybean processing plant is planned to be built in the Baltic enclave.

"The new plant for processing soybeans will become the largest in Russia,"​ he said.

The plan is to construct an oil extraction plant with an annual production capacity of over 500,000 tonnes, said Interfax. The factory will be accompanied by a sea terminal able to handle about 1.7 million tonnes, an elevator to manage 100,000 tonnes of grain and soybeans and a vegetable oil warehouse.

These facilities will be built on the shore of the Kaliningrad canal, near the town of Volochayevskoye and are said to create 600 jobs.

The report states that the plant is scheduled to open in January 2006 and will be equipped throughout with equipment from Belgium's De Smet. On completion the factory will produce soybean meal for feed, soybean oil, soy flour and other products.

The sea terminal will be the first in Russia for loading high-melting oils such as palm and coconut, the source said.

Supplies for a range of vegetable oils used extensively by the food industry are slated to rise for 2004/05 year on stronger yields for peanuts, soybeans and rapeseed oil, building up global stocks to about 390.5 million tons, reported FoodNavigator.com in December.

Rapeseed, soybeans and peanuts are all experiencing strong market growth as food makers continue to turn away from animal fats in favour of vegetable alternatives.

By 2008 analysts Business Communications Company predict these key vegetable edible oils will account for 69.9 per cent of the US market.

US production of major crude vegetable oils is slated to reach 8.6 million metric tons in 2008, with soybean oil accounting for nearly 87 per cent of the major vegetable oil production at 7.4 million metric tons.

Today, soybean oil - together with palm oil - accounts for over half of all oil consumed in the world. Rapeseed also enjoys a strong share of the market but in recent months supplies, and prices, have been severely impacted by a pulling of stocks from China and a dip in supplies due to poor harvests.

Oil prices in the US are forecast at 21 to 24 cents per pound, down 0.5 cent on both ends of the range, as soybean supplies hit 460 million bushels and soybean oil production rises to 165 million pounds, based on a higher projected extraction rate.

Chinese soybean production will reach a record 18 million tons.