Soybean meal pellets are produced from ground soybean expeller or extraction meal by adding a suitable binder (e.g. 1 – 3% of molasses, fat or colloidal clays) and then pressing the composition under high pressure in pelletizing machines or extruders to form cylindrically shaped pellets.

From a transportation standpoint, pellets generally have the same characteristics as the original plant residues, in particular in terms of the product’s oil and water content. A distinction is drawn between expeller pellets and extraction meal pellets depending on their origin.