- \n
- Direct human consumption, processed into other foods for human consumption<\/li>\n
- Processed into animal feed<\/li>\n
- Used to produce biodiesel fuel<\/li>\n
- Used in the production of industrial products like oils, plastics, etc<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- Who are the major producers and consumers [1]<\/sup><\/a>?\n
- \n
- The US, Brazil, Argentina and China<\/li>\n
- The US is the largest consumer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- What are their planting and harvest seasons [2]<\/sup><\/a>?\n
- \n
- In the US the biggest soybean producer, the planting period is late April to June and the harvest period is late\u00a0September\u00a0to the end of November<\/li>\n
- The planting and harvest period in countries in the Southern hemisphere is about the opposite to the countries in the Northern hemisphere.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\nIn the US, the harvest period of soybeans has begun. \u00a0The major production of soybeans is at the Midwestern states [3]<\/sup><\/a> and the drought since May[4]<\/sup><\/a> this year has hit the Midwest of the US most severely too. \u00a0Since soybeans growth depends on natural rainfall, the soybeans supply has been expected to be tightened, resulted in the general increase of the \u00a0price of soybeans futures.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/rosonluo\/files\/2012\/09\/soybeanproduction-300x217.png\" "\\"soybeanproduction\\"")
<\/a>US Soybean Production Areas
Source:Alberta.ca, Agriculture and Rural Development [3]<\/sup><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n
However, it’s reported that there was rainfall in the Midwest and Delta areas in the US at the\u00a0beginning\u00a0of the week. \u00a0I believed that the rainfall\u00a0would cause the high price of soybeans futures to go down. \u00a0That news was reported on Tuesday and I went in the market on Wednesday with a short contract for Jan 2013 soybeans. \u00a0On the first day in the market,\u00a0I lost about $300 because the settle price of that contract on Wednesday actually went up a bit from Tuesday’s . On the second day, the market seemed to have picked up the rainfall news and another news about a higher expected yield of soybeans[5]<\/sup><\/a>; \u00a0I gained about $ 2500 for a bigger price fall on Thursday. On the third day, I lost about $200 \u00a0for a price increase and I went long to offset my order. \u00a0Overall, I gained about $2000 over that 3 days Jan 2013 soybeans contract for short.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n
Although there were ups and downs of the price (volatility), it tend to be going down with a bigger scale (a downward trend).<\/div>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/a>References:<\/p>\n
1.Wikipedia. (2012, Sept.). \u00a0Soybean<\/em>. \u00a0Retrieved from\u00a0http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Soybean<\/a><\/p>\n
2. Kowalski, Chuck. (n.d.). \u00a0Soybean Planting and Harvest\u00a0Seasons.<\/em>\u00a0Retrieved from\u00a0http:\/\/commodities.about.com\/od\/profilesofcommodities\/a\/soybean-growing.htm<\/a><\/p>\n
3.\u00a0Government of Albert. (2011, Jan. 01).\u00a0Market Clippings: US Crops – Where Are They Grown?.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0Retrieved from\u00a0http:\/\/www1.agric.gov.ab.ca\/$department\/deptdocs.nsf\/all\/sis5219<\/a><\/p>\n
4.\u00a0NOAA National Climatic Data Center. (2012, May-June).\u00a0State of the Climate\u00a0Drought\u00a0May 2012.\u00a0<\/em>Retrieved from\u00a0http:\/\/www.ncdc.noaa.gov\/sotc\/drought\/2012\/5<\/a><\/p>\n