Germany’s soybean planting area triples between 2016 and 2025
The Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis) reports that Germany’s soybean‑cultivation area grew from 15,800 ha in 2016 to 43,300 ha in 2025, a rise of 174.1 %. The cultivated land now accounts for 0.3 % of the country’s total agricultural area.
Correspondingly, the domestic harvest increased from 43,200 t in 2016 to 130,800 t in 2025 (+202.8 %). More than half of the 2025 harvest (57.3 %) came from Bavaria, with Baden‑Württemberg (18.0 %) and Saxony‑Anhalt (6.9 %) contributing the rest.
Despite the expansion, imports dominate supply. Germany imported 3.4 million t of soybeans in 2025, 8.4 % more than in 2016. The United States was the leading source, providing 2.2 million t (64.1 % of imports), followed by Brazil (16.5 %) and Ukraine (9.0 %). In the EU, soybean area reached 1.0 million ha in 2025, with Italy as the top producer (297,800 ha, 1.1 million t) and France second.
Entities: Bavaria · Brazil · Germany · Italy · Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis) · Ukraine · United States
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 4 SOURCES] Germany’s soybean‑cultivation area increased from 15,800 ha in 2016 to 43,300 ha in 2025, a rise of 174.1 %. (Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis))
- [● 4 SOURCES] The United States supplied 2.2 million t of soybeans to Germany in 2025, accounting for 64.1 % of imports. (Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis))
- [● 4 SOURCES] Germany imported 3.4 million t of soybeans in 2025, 8.4 % more than the 3.1 million t imported in 2016. (Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis))
- [● 4 SOURCES] Germany’s soybean harvest grew from 43,200 t in 2016 to 130,800 t in 2025, an increase of 202.8 %. (Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis))
- [● 4 SOURCES] 57.3 % of Germany’s 2025 soybean harvest came from Bavaria; Baden‑Württemberg supplied 18.0 % and Saxony‑Anhalt 6.9 %. (Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis))
- [● 4 SOURCES] The cultivated soybean area represented 0.3 % of Germany’s total agricultural land in 2025. (Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis))
- [● 4 SOURCES] Brazil supplied 16.5 % and Ukraine 9.0 % of Germany’s soybean imports in 2025. (Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis))
- [● 4 SOURCES] EU soybean‑cultivation area reached 1.0 million ha in 2025, up 22.1 % from 2016. (Eurostat)