China avoids soy processing overcapacity

 

 

China will reject applications for new soy processing projects or project expansions in principle, to curb overcapacity and avoid blind competition in the industry, according to Chen Bin, director of the Department of Industry under the National Development and Reform Commission.

 

Chen said on Thursday (October 15) that China would set up a soy information release system and improve statistics' services in hopes of guiding the soy processing industry through a healthy development. The country will develop a reliable industrial information release platform and provide an annual industrial report to the public.

 

China will also put more efforts into industrial adjustment and upgrade, speed up the elimination of backward industrial capacity, and encourage key enterprises to conduct mergers and acquisitions and restructure themselves.

 

 

By end 2008, China's annual soy processing capacity exceeded 87 million tonnes. There were 150 factories each with a daily capacity of 500 tonnes or above and process 263,000 tonnes of soy every day and over 79 million tonnes during a year.

 

According to Chen, China's soy daily processing capacity has increased 4.3 times from 2000 to 2008. With an annual processing volume of 41.5 million tonnes at present, the capacity utilization rate is only 48 percent. The overcapacity problem is getting worse, as enterprises are expanding production and starting new projects.