BEIJING, CHINA — China’s soybean imports will slow down and eventually decline through 2030 as a result of slower livestock production growth, continuous improvement in farming practices and widespread adoption of low soymeal inclusion rate in feed formulas, according to a recent Rabobank study.
China is the world’s largest soybean importer, accounting for over 60% of global trade, with soybean imports mainly driven by crushing for feed production. Therefore, future imports primarily will be influenced by the outlook for feed demand and the soymeal inclusion rate in feed rations.
“We expect that Chinese feed consumption will maintain low-single-digit growth,” said Lief Chiang, senior analyst, Grains and Oilseeds, Rabobank. “However, the inclusion rate of soymeal in feed rations is projected to drop, as the Chinese government is launching a soymeal reduction campaign aimed at lowering the dependence on imported soybeans to ensure food security.”
The reduction of soymeal inclusion in feed also will create opportunities for startups to develop new technologies and novel ingredients, the report said.
“In a low-soymeal inclusion scenario, extra use of amino acids will be necessary to meet the nutritional needs of animals,” said Chenjun Pan, senior analyst, Animal Protein, Rabobank.
Chinese amino acid players will benefit, but rising domestic demand might compromise producers’ ability to export and prompt foreign buyers to diversify their supply chains.
Low soymeal inclusion formulas also will bring opportunities to other feed ingredient manufacturers, the report said. For example, enzyme application will rise along with rising use of alternative protein meals, as alternative protein meals require more enzymes to improve nutrient absorption and reduce anti-nutritional factors. Additionally, there are a number of startups focusing on novel feed protein sources, such as insect and microbial proteins.
In the long run, these novel proteins will make positive contributions toward saving natural resources and reducing carbon emissions, the Rabobank researchers said. However, as most of them are still in the development stage, there is high uncertainty about the timeline to achieve commercial viability in China.
The projected slowdown and eventual reduction in China’s soybean imports will have profound impacts on the entire global supply chain and reshape global trade flows. It will challenge all participants along the chain, including growers, trade merchants, soybean crushers, livestock farmers, feed mills, and feed ingredient manufacturers, Chiang said.
“While China will remain the largest importer, additional growth will shift from China to other regions and mainly be driven by emerging economies in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and South Asia,” Chiang said. “Merchants will need to realign their business for new destination markets and increase infrastructure investment in these regions.”
Moreover, global soymeal trade volume is projected to increase at a fast pace. Driven by rising biofuel demand, the United States and Brazil are expected to expand their crushing capacities and process more beans domestically, keeping more soy oil for local use and exporting increasing volumes of soymeal. This will benefit integrated merchants, especially those with crushing plants in the Americas.
While soymeal inclusion in feed is the largest determinant of China’s soybean imports, other variables also may impact soybean import projections.
“Rising domestic soybean productionand direct soymeal imports would further lower the import forecast, while state stock buying would lift import quantities in some years,” Chiang said. “The government puts a high emphasis on food security, so it might encourage imports or conduct stock buying to replenish state reserves as a buffer against various risks like adverse weather, supply chain disruptions, geopolitical tensions, natural disasters, etc. Complex economic relationships might also lead to state purchases to balance trade accounts. Though additional government procurement will temporarily increase import projections in some years, the impact would be short term.”
