European soybean meal and corn prices climbed on September 3 to their highest levels since Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, launched its EU feed assessments in May 2025, with market participants citing a combination of rising futures and strengthening physical premiums.

Platts assessed FOB Netherlands soybean meal at €400/metric ton ($464.88/mt) and EXW Spain soybean meal at €403/mt on September 3, both up €18/mt week over week. EXW Spain corn was assessed at €248/mt, up €4/mt over the same period.

Feed is a major input cost for livestock producers across the EU, so sustained rises in soybean meal and corn benchmarks tend to feed through into production costs for the pork, poultry and dairy sectors, which rely heavily on protein meals and grains in compound feed.

Participants described an increasingly volatile market environment. A Dutch broker said uncertainty over the direction of futures had made it difficult to predict where prices could move next.

"We don't have any idea where the market will be in the next few days; the future is so volatile now," the broker said.

According to a Dutch trader, that volatility itself was encouraging buyers back into the market.

A Spanish trader noted that despite the sharp gains in futures and premiums, underlying feed demand remained relatively subdued.

"Demand is still slow, but futures and premiums keep moving higher," the trader said.

Looking ahead, the trader added that concerns surrounding the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and associated compliance premiums were likely to return toward the end of the year. The EUDR requires companies placing soy, and other deforestation-linked commodities on the EU market, to demonstrate that products are deforestation-free and legally produced, with traceability back to plot of land, a compliance burden that sits behind the cost estimates cited by industry.

Those concerns were echoed in a September 2 report from the European Feed Manufacturers' Federation (FEFAC), which estimated that EUDR implementation could increase soy sourcing costs by more than €1 billion in 2027. The association also called for measures to simplify procedures to safeguard feed supply security across the bloc.

A second Dutch trader highlighted that US soybean meal typically gains a foothold in the European market during the US harvest period and is currently the most competitively priced origin available to EU buyers.

"At the moment, US soybean meal is the cheapest option for Europe," the second trader said.

A second Dutch broker added that the duration of this trade window would largely depend on developments in Brazil, the EU's traditional dominant soybean meal supplier, meaning the competitiveness of US origin cargoes could prove short-lived depending on Brazilian supply flows.

In the grains market, Spanish participants reported that rising corn prices were prompting feed manufacturers to reassess feed formulations.

"Feed millers are already looking at alternative formulations as corn becomes more expensive," a Spanish broker said.

The broker also estimated Spain's barley harvest closer to 6.5 million mt rather than 7 million mt, citing reduced planted area and heat stress during May as key factors behind the lower output.

"The crop is smaller than many expected because of lower planting and the high temperatures in May," the Spanish broker added.

"Ukraine logistics remain challenging, and with futures moving higher, it is lifting prices across Europe," a second Spanish trader said. Ukraine has been a key corn supplier to Spain and the wider EU in recent years, so disruption to Black Sea export logistics directly affects European grain availability.

Source: Platts