October 24, 2012

China is expected to extend soy imports through 2012, due to rising demand and falling local output.

The country may be becoming more dependent on the global food market. The China National Grain and Oils Information Centre, a research unit at the State Administration of Grain, raised its forecast in its latest report, projecting that the country's soy imports will reach 3.5 million tonnes in October, 5.2 million tonnes in November and 4.5 million tonnes in December.

This means that China's soy imports this year will increase 9.3% from last year to a total of 57.5 million tonnes. The country's domestic soy output, meanwhile, was estimated to decline by 11.6% from last year to 12.8 million tonnes, as China's soy growing area shrank by 14.43% from a year earlier to this year's 6.75 million hectares.