Soya is the most frequently used cooking oil in the world.  Brazil produced over 30% of the world’s soya beans, in 2005 Brazil produced 51 million metric tonnes, this makes Brazil the 2^nd largest soya producer in the world with over 13 million hectares planted, and it is only second behind USA which supplies over 50% of the world demand and has done so for the last 10 years. However Brazil is the worlds largest exporter of soy beans. West Bahia grew 935,000Ha in the 2007-08 season and produced  nearly 3 million metric tonnes. Apart from the enormous importance to Brazil’s foreign trade soya oil and bran are fundamental for internal supply.  Soya oil is used for a wide range of processed food products, as well as for cooking and producing bio-fuel. 

Soya bran, which has had the oil extracted from it, is an important part of human diet and also for the poultry feed industry in Brazil.  It is also good supplement feed for beef, pork and dairy production.  Most of Brazil’s soya is for the domestic market.  Soya bean production is fairly capital intensive; - suiting the large-scale production techniques, and really providing small benefits to a small-scale farmer.  The Netherlands and China are ravenous importers of Brazilian soya products.

Asian Soy Bean Rust (SBR) has been present in Brazil since 2000 and millions of dollars have been spent on management of this rust.  Fungicides are sprayed at the first detection of SBR and repeated thereafter in 10 – 15 day intervals.  The timing of fungicide application is critical as the whole soya beans reproductive growth needs to be protected.  Western Bahia has state and privately operated weather stations providing accurate and up to the minute information on air movements that carry the SBR spores spreading infection.  Using information from these stations the farmers in the region are able to accurately and effectively apply sprays to control SBR.  SBR resistant varieties of soya bean have been developed in China (the plants origin) and these varieties are being crossbred for use in Brazil although the price of SBR resistant seed is more expensive.  There are breeding programs throughout Brazil and Western Bahia providing growers with different varieties best suited for the individual conditions, SBR can be contained however it increases production costs by $25 /ha.  Many local farmers have test plots and they are already benefiting from world-class soya genetics, however with the introduction of GMO soya, production is likely to double in a short time.  There are ethical decisions amongst others that influence the use of any G.M.O.

For example in Paraguay soya farmers have reported average production costs to be reduced by $20 - $40 USD per metric tonne through lower herbicide use alone.  In Western Bahia this would translate to about $20 - $50 USD reduction in the cost per hectare of growing soya beans, assuming yields of 2.7 T/ha and existing cost per hectare being $105 - $145 USD/ha.  Soya is of very high importance to the area, it could be said that the western Bahia’s agricultural economy revolves around soya production. 

On Thursday February 28 2008 in LEM the price for soy bean sacks hit an all time record high of R$52/Sc.