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China aims to reduce the use of soybean meal in animal feed to 10 percent by 2030


Source: Oleoscope (Russia)

China is actively working to lessen its reliance on imported soybeans. In an effort to limit purchases from abroad and enhance the nation’s food security, the top global buyer of soybeans recently revealed plans to significantly decrease the proportion of soybean meal used in animal feed, according to Reuters.

The country consumes over 100 million tons of soybeans annually, nearly all of which is processed into protein-rich feed, primarily for its massive hog population, the largest worldwide. On Tuesday, Beijing announced its goal to cut the share of soybean meal in livestock feed to 10 percent by 2030, a drop from 13 percent in 2023 and 18 percent in 2017.

Nonetheless, China remains heavily dependent on imported soybeans, with expectations of record-high consumption between April and June driven by a large Brazilian harvest.

This strategy to lower soybean meal usage in animal feed has been discussed intermittently since at least 2018. At that time, pig feed in China typically contained roughly 20% soybean meal and 70-75% corn. According to the Chinese ministry’s 2022 report, the soybean meal content in feed declined to 15.3% in 2021 from 17.8% in 2017. This adjustment resulted in a conservation of 11 million tons of soybean meal, which corresponds to about 14 million tons of soybeans.

In April 2023, Beijing proposed reducing the soybean meal ratio in feed to less than 13% by 2025. Analysts then indicated that this could bring down soybean imports to 82 million tons by 2025, significantly lower than the estimated 94.6 million tons projected for 2024/25.

Meanwhile, the USDA forecasts that China’s soybean imports will surpass 109 million tons in 2024/25, suggesting that China’s estimates of soybean meal consumption might be too low. Since last year, the USDA has relied on data from international exporters rather than Chinese customs figures to gauge China’s soybean demand, as actual shipments have considerably exceeded the official reported consumption.


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