Funded by the Illinois Soybean Checkoff
The Next Hot Recruit ISA is keeping an eye open for the next market for Illinois farmers. By Jill Parrent
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lways on the hunt for the newest recruit, ISA is continually focused on finding the next international market for Illinois farmers soybeans. Relying on more than one market to sell soybeans is crucial, and the next all-star market recently opened is not fresh but is making a comeback in a big way. Turkey is making a crucial impact on the soybean mar-
26 May 2021
ket. Once closed to most soy imports, they recently opened the doors to 3MMT soybean imports once again. U.S. soy has made entry. "When looking for the next market, ISA looks for key identifiers to confirm our next soybean recruit." Eric Woodie, Illinois Soybean Association’s Trade Facilitator and Analyst. “New markets are usually seen to be those from emerging economies. New households moving into the global middle
class often shift their diets from one of subsistence to increasing protein. That increased demand for protein gives way to competitive soybean imports – the U.S. farmer is here to meet those needs.” Along with protein demand, the U.S. needs market access and existing infrastructure to deliver the product. The market reopened in Turkey and is developing like never before. According to the USDA Agricultural Biotechnology Annual
Report in 2020, although the prices for U.S. soy products were favorable, the concern of a Low Level Presence (LLP) detection caused importers to avoid buying soybeans from the United States. LLP detection is where seeds that function biologically occasionally contain low levels of recombinant DNA plant materials that have been reviewed for environmental risks in a country. This essentially blocked imports of U.S. soybeans into Turkey in 2019. Despite paying higher prices for feed materials,
