Posted on November, 20, 2023 at 09:34 am
South Africa’s first export of soybeans to China left Durban in October, made possible by last year’s signing of a protocol with Beijing granting access to the Chinese market. The size of the shipment was not specified.
According to the South African agriculture department, 18 companies and 162 storage facilities have been approved to export soybeans to China.
“The successful shipment is a testament to the possibilities of growing the cereal and oilseed sector through successful collaboration between the government and private sector,” Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza told the South African press.
The new trade with China – the world’s biggest consumer and importer of soybeans – would help to generate foreign earnings for South Africa’s farmers, especially in the rural economy, he said.
China has the world’s largest number of pigs – more than 450 million, as of April – producing about 50 million tonnes of pork each year. Soybeans are processed into a variety of food products, but they are also used to make swine feed.
The China National Grain and Oils Information Centre estimates that the country will import 97 million tonnes of soybeans in the 2023-24 marketing year.
Zambia, Tanzania, Benin and Ethiopia are some of the other African countries already exporting soybeans to China, but the Asian economic giant’s main sources of the superfood are the US, along with Brazil, Russia and Argentina.
The trade war which began during Donald Trump’s administration saw Washington and Beijing impose tit-for-tat tariffs on various products, including soybeans.
But relations have improved lately, after frequent exchanges between Chinese and US officials in recent months. Last month, China signed its first bulk orders since 2017 for American soybeans, corn, sorghum and wheat.
They were among 11 purchase agreements worth billions of dollars struck by Chinese commodity importers and top US merchants – including ADM, Bunge, and Cargill – at the US-China Sustainable Agricultural Trade Forum in Des Moines, Iowa.
Source: SCMP