Soybeans have to be moved throughout the postharvest system. This includes soybeans transport from the harvest fields to the threshing or drying site, from there to storehouses or to collection centres, from there to the processing industries or to bigger central storage buildings, from these industries or storage buildings to wholesalers or retailers for final marketing. The type of transport used to move soybeans depends on the amount of beans and distance travelled.

2.3.1 Traditional transport

In places where the road network is undeveloped and agriculture is traditional, people, donkeys and sometimes horses generally transport soybeans. Otherwise, small trucks are used to transport small quantities of beans, generally packed in bags. Big trucks (Figure 12) are most commonly used since more beans are transported per trip. Most of the times these trucks transport the beans in bulk.

 Figure 12.Truck used to transport soybeans.

It is especially important to transport the beans from the field to storage centres as soon as possible to avoid deterioration.

Losses during transport must be reduced to a minimum. Loss means the difference in weight between the quantity loaded and the quantity unloaded. In addition, there is a loss in quality when the beans undergo changes during transport. To avoid transport losses, bags must be checked before putting beans in, since they are reused and can tear during loading or unloading, causing leakage of beans during transport. Care must be taken to load and arrange bags properly in the truck, avoiding crushing the lower layers and placing bags on pallets to permit air to circulate. Also, soybeans must be protected while being transported in the rainy season.

In Mexico, the average transportation rate is about US$7 per tonne of beans in a maximum distance of 60 km. If the truck has to go over a longer distance, the transportation cost has to be agreed between the parts.

In some cases transport costs may represent a considerable amount of money for the farmers. Soybean farmers in Northwestern Argentina have to ship their soybeans to processing plants located in the southern part of the country. These transportation expenses in some years have accounted for as much as 20 percent of the total production costs (Ricci and Ploper, 1997).

Barge transportation of grains is a tradition in the Midwestern part of United States. Agriculture in Midwestern United States is the world’s most efficient and lowest cost producer of many crops, soybean is one of them (Fruin, 1995). The inland waterway system is the major transportation route to export ports in the Gulf of Mexico. Over 25 percent of world grain and oilseed originate on this waterway. In the US, although the water route means extra miles, the rates are much lower than rail rates.

2.3.2 Other means of transport

Large quantities of soybeans are also transported by railcars (Figure 13). This transportation mean has the advantage of generally being cheaper than road transport. Over great distances and where the means exist, it is preferable to transport beans by rail or by ship. Ocean grain freighting services are often contracted several months before shipment.

 Figure 13. Soybeans and soybean meal transport by rail (left); bottom unloading by gravity (right).

It is very important to clean and fumigate the railcars before loading the beans. The moisture content of the beans must be checked and kept between the desirable range for safe storage and handling. Moisture contents lower than 12 percent are desirable for safe storage. In general, moisture contents not lower than 10 percent are desirable to avoid seed damage during handling.

The rate of transporting beans or soybean meal by rail from the United States border to Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico, a city located at 500 km from the United States border, is US$9 per tonne.