March 10, 2008

Soy acreage to more than double in China's Heilongjiang

China's soy acreage in the north eastern Heilongjiang province, which accounts for one-third of the country's total output, will likely more than double in 2008 from last year, an official from the province said Friday (March 7, 2008).

Heilongjiang will likely have around 4.53 million hectares under soy cultivation this year, up from 2.00 million hectares last year, said Sui Fengfu, chief of the General Bureau of State Farms in the province.

Soy acreage in 2007 was sharply reduced from an average of 4.00 million hectares in previous years due to competition from other crops such as corn which offered higher returns, he said.

Speaking at a meeting during the National Peoples Congress, Sui said lower output in the province last year pushed up soy prices to RMB5,600/tonne in early March from less than RMB3,000/tonne a year ago.

The Heilongjiang province produced 4.91 million tonnes of soy in 2007, down 27 percent on year, according to data from the province's statistics bureau.