The animal feed production in China witnessed a rise in the first 11 months of 2023, but the use of soymeal as feedstock dropped 11% year-on-year, its agriculture ministry said recently, amid a push to cut the country’s heavy reliance on soybean imports.
Soymeal consumption by animal feed companies in January-November declined by 4.44 MMT, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said in a statement.
For the full year, the proportion of soymeal used in feed is estimated to drop by 1.5 percentage points, the ministry said. In comparison, the soymeal ratio was 14.5% in 2022
The ministry said that would reduce the demand for soybean for feed by 9.1 MT.
China’ s agriculture ministry had earlier issued a three-year action plan to reduce soymeal use in animal feed as it tries to reduce its heavy reliance on soybean imports. The new plan proposes soymeal ratios in animal feed should be reduced to less than 13% by 2025, from 14.5% in 2022
Authorities in the world’s top soybean importer already issued guidelines in 2021 to its animal feed industry recommending lower soymeal ratios.
Source: Reuters
