Global trade in soybeans and soybean products has risen rapidly since the early 1990s, and has surpassed not only wheat—the traditional leader in agricultural commodity trade—but also total coarse grains (corn, barley, sorghum, rye, oats, millet, and mixed grains). Continued strong growth in global demand for vegetable oil and protein meal, particularly in China, is expected to maintain soybean and soybean-product trade well above wheat and coarse grains trade throughout the next decade.

• Wheat, coarse grains, and oilseeds (including soybeans) compete with each other and with other crops for limited cropland. Higher prices for vegetable oils, partially the result of increased demand for biodiesel, are bringing previously uncropped land in Brazil and Indonesia into soybean and palm oil production.