World Production Data - Soybean oil and meal

In order to derive the products, soybeans are normally extracted without the pre-pressing step. The meal content in the soybean is 80 %, oil 19.5 % and lecithin 0.5 %.

Soybean oil is the world most used vegetable oil for edible applications. It has a naturally light colour and little flavour; hence it is mainly used in applications like baking fats, mayonnaise, frying oil, salad and cooking oils, as an ingredient in margarine and other edible uses. Besides food applications, soybeans oil is also used by the chemical and technical industry in applications like varnish and lacquer.

Soybean oil is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and low in saturated fatty acids. The five major fatty acids in soybean oil are palmitate, stearate, oleate, and linolenate.

The meal is mainly used for animal feed. In addition, protein concentrates from soybean meal are important food ingredients. Lecithin (phospholipids) is another important product derived from soybeans. Its main use is as a lubricant as well as an emulsifier in the food, feed and pharmaceutical industries.

The EU produces 2.6 million tonnes of soybean oil, exports 0.4 million tonnes and consumes 2.3 million tonnes. As for meals, 33.7 million tonnes of soybean meal are consumed, of which 11 million tonnes are produced in the EU and 23.2 million tonnes are imported (0.6 are re-exported).

[Source:FEDIOL]