BANGKOK, THAILAND — Thailand’s economy is rebounding from COVID-19 and is seeing a spike in feed demand and a need for soybean imports, according to a Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The country’s soybean imports in the 2021-22 marketing year are expected to jump 5% to 4.1 million tonnes compared to the previous marketing year based on increased demand from the food and feed industries. Soybean meal imports are also on the rise in the 2021-22 marketing year to 2.8 million tonnes, a 2% increase compared to a 5% reduction in the 2020-21 marketing year. An increase in poultry and swine production is expected to feed the escalating soybean meal import demand.

According to the USDA, soybean production in Thailand remains marginal as farmers are keen to produce more profitable commodities such as corn and cassava.