China needs to be more cautious of big soy imports

The Chinese government needs to pay more attention to increasing soy import volumes that have hurt domestic farmers' interests, an official said Monday.

Imported genetically modified soy are cheaper than China's non-GM soy, and the country's dependence on imports will dramatically affect lives if imports become less available, said Xiong Bilin, an inspector with the Department of Industry under the National Development and Reform Commission, China's economic planner.

Meanwhile, China's soy processing capacity far exceeds consumption of products, and the government will strictly curb blind expansion of soy processing capacity, he added.