Soybean Meal Exports from Russia Increase by 91% in Q1

This is the second-highest figure for this period in the history of observations.

The key factor driving this growth was the increased demand from neighboring countries, which accounted for about 68% of the total exports in 2026. The main shipments in the first quarter were directed to Uzbekistan (70 thousand tons) and Belarus (50 thousand tons).

Significant growth was also recorded in other regions: exports to Tajikistan increased by 238% year-on-year, to Kyrgyzstan by 149%, to Uzbekistan by 146%, to Kazakhstan by 33%, and to Azerbaijan by 26%.

Simultaneously, interest from more distant markets is growing. Shipments to Turkey increased by 3.1 times, and to China by 11.7 times. There is also an expansion of presence in the markets of Iran and Morocco.

Analysts attribute the growth in exports primarily to the situation in the domestic market. The increase in soybean supply this season has led to higher processing volumes — both at specialized enterprises and at plants previously focused on processing sunflower and rapeseed.

An additional factor was the introduction of new production capacities, which created a surplus supply of soybean meal. In these conditions, export has become a key channel for balancing the market and reducing pressure on domestic prices.

Meanwhile, the competitiveness of Russian products is supported by the relatively low cost of raw materials, allowing for maintaining export parity in both neighboring and distant markets.