March 4, 2011

Majority of China's 2010 soy output goes into food processing

More than 10 million tonnes or 65% of China's soy production were used for domestic food processing in 2010, according to the latest report by the China Soybean Industry Association (CSIA).

CSIA said that the country's soy protein exports now take up 50% of total international trade, adding that China should ensure the proportion of home soy used in domestic soy food production not less than the security line of 30%.

The association also called on improving home soy's competitiveness while stabilising amount of soy imports in the following years.

The report noted that as demand for non-genetically modified soy is booming both at home and abroad, domestic soy, which are non-genetically modified and rich in protein, have become more appealing to soy food industry.

Statistics from the Soybean Products Committee of the China National Food Industry Association show that China's soy used for food processing in 2009 jumped 64% over 2008, with sales rising 40%.

The nation's largest soy processing mill Heilongjiang Jiusan Oil and Fat Co has already shifted its business to soy food production and Chinatex Corp is also preparing to build soy protein processing projects.

As the field for soy processing is wide and soy food has more varieties, China's soy food processing industry is growing to be a strong sector in the world. Experts predict that the country's non-genetically modified soy is expected to become a scarce product in the future.