Title page
Contents
Abstract 3
Acknowledgments 3
Summary 5
Introduction 7
The United States and Brazil Are the Largest Soybean Suppliers 10
Main Soybean Production Regions 12
The United States 12
Brazil 13
Production Costs and Export Competitiveness 15
Comparing Soybean Costs and Returns 17
Farm Cost-of-Production Measures 18
Soybean Cost of Production in Selected Regions of the United States and Brazil 20
Factors Affecting Cost of Shipping 25
Conclusion 28
References 30
Table 1. U.S. soybean production costs per planted acre, Heartland and U.S. total, MY 2021/22 21
Table 2. Brazil's soybean production costs per planted acre-Mato Grosso, Paraná, and Brazil total, MY 2021/22 22
Table 3. Estimated costs of transporting Brazil's soybeans to China, actual and historical, MYs 2008/09-2021/22 26
Table 4. Soybean shipping costs from the U.S. Heartland and Brazil to a common destination in China, MYs 2017/18-2021/22 28
Figure 1. United States and Brazil soybean exports volume, MYs 2010/11-2021/22 10
Figure 2. Brazil's monthly soybean exports as a percent of annual soybean exports, MYs 2011/12-2016/17 and 2017/18-2021/22 12
Figure 3. Brazil's major ports, roads, and areas related to soybean production and exports 14
Figure 4. Brazil soybean acreage and production, MYs 2006/07-2021/22 15
Figure 5. Export value of soybeans and Brazil's BRL-USD exchange rate, 2003-21 16
Figure 6. Soybean production costs per acre in the United States and Brazil, MYs 2010/11-2021/22 17
Figure 7. Total economic production costs per bushel in the United States and Brazil, MY 2021/22 18
Figure 8. Regional and national average soybean price per bushel in the United States and Brazil, MYs 2017/18-2021/22 19
Figure 9. Soybean production costs per acre, MY 2021/22 23
Figure 10. Soybean national average cost structure and value of production, MY 2021/22 24
Figure 11. Return above costs per bushel of soybeans, regions, and national average, MY 2021/22 24