March 5, 2007

China's fish farms a growing market for US soybeans

Rapid expansion of China's aquaculture sector represents a growing market for US soybeans, a US Soybean Export Council official said.

As the world's top producer of farmed fish, China's aquaculture industry uses 4.5 million to 5 million tonnes of soymeal a year.

The market could easily double within a decade, Brent Babb of the US Soybean Export Council said.

The council has been working for roughly a decade to promote soymeal use in China's fish farms. In the last two years, the council has expanded those efforts to India, which has the world's second-largest aquaculture industry.

China, India and other nations are turning to aquaculture to meet rising demand for fish as supplies from the wild dwindle.