China to curb foreign dominance in soy industry
China will further control foreign expansion in its soy processing industry by blocking the setup of new facilities, a senior government official said Monday.
He Yanli, deputy chief of the industrial department under the National Development and Reform Commission, said there would no longer be new soy processing facility allowed to be built.
The country will also encourage consolidation in the sector, during which small processing plants will be eliminated by mergers and acquisitions, He said.
Chinese companies are urged to lead the development of the soy processing industry, which is now dominated by foreign companies.
The almost 50 percent soy processing output by foreign companies has squeezed the developing room for domestic companies in a sector that is key to China's economic development and people's livelihood, said the official.
China will issue policies to support the development of big domestic companies amid the consolidation and encourage the production of non-genetically modified soybeans, she said.
The country will further strengthen regulation of foreign investment in the soy processing sector, which is suffering from excess capacity.
He expected China's soy demand to exceed 50 million tonnes in 2008.
The NDRC will issue guidelines on development of the soy industry, she said, without giving a timetable.
China issued guidelines to control expansion in corn's industrial processing sector last year amid rising grain prices.
