EU feed makers see spike in maize, soybean imports after drought

PARIS: The European Union will need to import more maize and soybean products in 2026/27 after drought reduced grain and forage supplies, tightening feed availability for livestock producers, feed makers group FEFAC said on Wednesday.

The group said the bloc would need an additional 7 million metric tons of maize, lifting total imports to more than 26 million tons, mainly from Ukraine, the United States and Brazil. It did not provide an estimate for soybean product imports.

The European Commission last week forecast EU maize imports at 25 million tons in 2026/27, up from 19.3 million in 2025/26 and the highest level since 2022/23. The EU’s crop monitoring service MARS also cut its forecast for this year’s maize yield after heat and drought continued to damage crops.

EU maize imports were already 41 percent higher than a year earlier as of August 30, with the United States and Ukraine by far the largest suppliers, followed by Brazil.

Maize is mostly grown for animal feed in Europe.

FEFAC urged the European Commission and member states to keep Ukrainian feed grains flowing, allow temporary national derogations for some imported grains used only in animal feed, and suspend the EU’s deforestation rules for palm kernel expeller, a by-product used in cattle feed.