Common name: Soybean meal, soybean cake, soybean oil meal, soybean oil cake
Scientific Name: Glycine max
Feed categories: Legume seeds and by-products
Physical Characteristics: The Soybean meal (SBM) of solvent extraction is a bright yellow to golden yellow while the expeller processing is yellowish-brown. The extremely light color indicates inadequate heat treatment, whereas the dark color indicates excessive heat treatment. The good-quality SBM should emit fresh and nutty smells, have no evidence of mold or insects, and be free of foreign materials or burnt particles.
Description: Soybean meal (SBM), soybean oil meal, or soya meal is a by-product of solvent extractions or oil expelling from seeds. The SMB sustains around 80% whole seed weights after oil extraction and is available as meals or cakes in the market. Full-fat SBM, a high-calorie feed produced from whole seeds, is also used. Simple stomach animals prefer a defatted SBM without hulls, an intermediate-calorie feed, while ruminants prefer the same with hulls. Soybean meal is an excellent feed for livestock; it is very palatable, highly digestible, and contains a high amount of digestible energy. Soybean meal is an excellent protein source used to feed farm animals. All of the necessary amino acids are present in the protein, although cystine and methionine are in low concentration. The first limiting amino acid is methionine, which may be especially crucial for meals high in energy.
Production and Availability: In Bangladesh, soybeans are cultivated in very limited areas, mostly in the coastal area, including Noakhali and Lakshmipur districts in Chattogram Division and Pirojpur, Patuakhali, Borguna, and Bhola districts in Barishal Division. The feed industry predominantly uses domestically produced soybeans. The annual seed production is 107.00 metric tons (DAE, 2023). The yearly demand for SBM in the country ranges from 1.80 to 2.00 million tons. Imported soybean seeds provide support to domestic oil producers, fulfilling 70% to 75% of the domestic SBM demand, with the remaining SBM demand coming from imports.