BEIJING, CHINA – China’s Feed Industry Association on Oct. 26 approved new standards for pig and poultry feed, lowering the protein levels in pig feed by 1.5 percentage points and those for poultry by one percentage point, the agriculture ministry said in a statement.

The Chinese government said the new standards would cut China’s annual consumption of soybeans by 14 million tonnes, marking a drop of about 13% from the last crop year.

China, the world’s top consumer of soybeans, in July slapped a 25% tariff on U.S. soybeans as well as other products in response to tariffs placed on Chinese good by the U.S.

China has since turned to Brazil for most of its soybean purchases. Its soybean imports are reportedly set to drop by 25% in the last three months of this year, which would be the largest decline in 12 years.

The ministry said China’s overall annual consumption of soymeal would fall by 11 million tonnes in the coming year. In 2017-18, China used 71 million tonnes of soymeal to make animal feed.