China soy imports to keep rising; at slower pace

China's domestic soy output growth can't match the rate of rising demand, so imports will continue to rise, a government official said Tuesday.

The pace of demand growth will slow, however, said Liu Xiaonan, a deputy chief of the economic and trade department under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The government will continue to adjust subsidization and reserve policies to support the local soy industry, Liu said at a soy conference

The government will encourage processing plants to increase their soy reserves as well, he said.

China's soy imports this year will likely total around 40 million tonnes, Liu said, compared with 37.44 million tonnes last year, according to General Administration of Customs data.

In the January-July period, China imported 26.48 million tonnes of soy, up 28 percent compared with the same period last year, according to data issued by Customs earlier in the day.