Special Report

Evaluating China’s current and future demand for soybeans

 

 

Will Chinese meat consumption continue to grow? And, if so, will China’s livestock industry and demand for U.S. soybeans grow with it?

Those questions were a big part of the discussion as Iowa Soybean Association leaders met with officials of two of China’s largest feed manufacturers, Tongwei and New Hope*. The issue of GMOs was also part of the conversation.

Following the feed company visits we asked Grant Kimberley, market development director of the Iowa Soybean Association, for his reaction to what he heard and if it affected his thinking about China’s current and future demand for Iowa and U.S. soybeans.

AUDIO: Grant Kimberley

*Tongwei is the number one producers of aqua-feed for the fish industry. Soybean meal makes up around 20 percent of the rations fed to fish.  The company is also a major producer of feed for hogs.  During a visit to a Tongwei feed plant near Chengdu, we learned that, within a 35-mile radius of that plant, nearly seven million hogs are produced annually.

New Hope is a Chinese multinational corporation which manufactures and distributes feedstuffs and meat products in and outside of China. It is the largest feed producer in China with annual production capacity of 26.6 million tons.