Brazil's soybean oil exporters shipped 291,000 metric tons of soft vegetable fats and oils in the first 18 working days of September, a 278% jump from the same window a year earlier, according to preliminary data from Brazil's Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex).

The average daily shipment pace reached roughly 16,167 mt, up 33% from the prior week's cumulative rate. At that pace, September will approach 339,500 mt once the remaining three working days are counted, based on Secex data.

How fast is the September pace?

The September figure covers a category that also includes vegetable oils other than soybean oil. Comex Stat, the Brazilian government's consolidated trade database, will release detailed soybean oil volumes only with the next monthly trade summary.

The annual picture is already decisive. Brazil exported about 1.57 million mt of soybean oil between January and August, comfortably above the 1.363 million mt shipped across all of 2025. That crossover came eight months into the year, leaving September and beyond as additional upside.

What is driving the surge?

The Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (ABIove) links the run to record domestic crush activity. Soybean processing hit 33.6 million mt in January-July, up 8.3% year over year on an adjusted basis. July alone processed 5.13 million mt, a 7.4% increase versus July 2024.

On Sept. 18, ABIove lifted its 2026 crush forecast to 63.5 million mt — a new record — from 63.3 million mt. The group raised soybean oil output to 12.8 million mt from 12.75 million mt and lifted the export estimate 5.9% to 1.8 million mt from 1.7 million mt.

ABIove attributed the upgrade to "strong domestic processing and a firm international soybean oil market."

What does it mean for shippers and ports?

Through the end of August, Brazilian soybean oil exports sat roughly 230,000 mt short of ABIove's prior full-year target. September's tracking pace, if confirmed by Comex Stat, will close that gap and push the country past the trade group's earlier 2025 ceiling.

The 200,000 mt upgrade to the 2026 export projection adds fresh parcel demand for loading windows that typically peak between March and July. Carriers and forwarders serving Paranaguá, Santos and Rio Grande should expect heavier lineup pressure for the 2026 soybean oil program.

On Sept. 25, Platts assessed Brazilian soybean oil FOB Paranaguá for November loading at $1,235.47/mt. The benchmark gives forward-booking shippers, refiners and biodiesel blenders a refreshed reference point from Brazil's principal soybean export hub.

What to watch next

ABIove's next revision, expected with October crush and trade data, will test whether the current run-rate holds into the peak export season. A September Comex Stat print above 300,000 mt of soybean oil specifically would confirm the 2026 trajectory is intact and keep downward pressure on competing origin premiums through the southern hemisphere harvest.