Hog herds and poultry are getting even more expensive to feed

Futures for soybean meal—a key component of animal feed—climbed to a seven-year high as top shipper Argentina suspended export registrations, another sign of countries curbing trade to protect domestic food markets.

Argentina suspended traders from registering soybean meal and oil for export, according to a memo signed by its secretary for agriculture markets. The government typically puts a block on the register before increasing taxes on shipments in order to stop farmers from preempting the hike with a flood of sales.

Governments from Asia to Europe and the Americas are taking steps to safeguard local crop supplies as the war in Ukraine tightens global markets already strained by harvest setbacks and a recovery in demand. Hungary and Indonesia are among nations that have imposed trade curbs on farm products ranging from grains to cooking oil.

Soybean meal futures rose as much as 3% in Chicago to $491.60 per 2,000 pounds (0.91 tons), their highest since mid-2014, before paring the advance to 0.9% as of 10:34 a.m. London time.

Soybeans were little changed, hovering near a nine-year high. Wheat and corn fell.