November 23, 2007

Soy output in Heilongjiang province down by 27 percent

Heilongjiang province in Northeast China produced soy output of 4.195 billion kilogrammes (kg) in 2007, declining by 1.765 billion kg or 27 percent on-year.

Heilongjiang soy output hits 92.7 kg per mu (1 mu = 667 square meters) in the year, dropping 21.2 kg or 18.6 percent.

Low-yield soy area is only about 3.53 million hectares, decreasing about 405,533 hectares or 10.3 percent from 2006; while soy output fell by 695 million kg.

Overall, soy planting area in Northeast China was down in 2007. This was caused by severe droughts and plant diseases, according to experts.

North America and Brazil, main soy producers globally, also decreased their soy planting areas in the same year.

Heilongjiang's 2006 soybean output accounted for 39.58 percent of China's total produce. However, in 2007 the soy planting area was just about 3.352 million hectares, dropping by 584,667 hectares from a year earlier.