News
Non-GMO Soy market has calmed down
"Ohne Gentechnik" [Non-GMO] food often means first and foremost GM-free animal feed. This is because milk, meat and eggs, which are often produced with GM soy in the feed, are not labelled as such for consumers. This "labelling gap" is closed by the "Ohne GenTechnik" seal. If it can be found on an animal product, the animals were fed GMO-free feed.
Imported soy, especially from South America, continues to play a major role in animal feed in Europe. The price for GMO-free soybean meal is represented by a price premium over GMO soybean meal, the so-called "Non-GMO premium".
At the beginning of 2021, this premium rose rapidly for a short time to over 300 euros per tonne. After the start of the Ukraine war, there was another upward spike, which contributed to fears and allegations of possible availability bottlenecks.
In the meantime, the premium has dropped again to well below 50 euros per tonne. The prices were determined by the organisation Donau Soja. The high volatility of this premium is partly due to a strongly fluctuating supply. In 2021/22, Non-GMO soybean meal from South America was in short supply. The resulting high premiums encouraged South American farmers to expand GMO-free soy cultivation. At the same time as yields were good, supply rose sharply in 2022/23 and is now leading to falling premiums.
Early contracts would better synchronise supply and demand and result in more consistent premiums - to the benefit of everybody along the value chain.