Posted on March, 13, 2025 at 12:12 pm
Chinese agricultural scientists are developing new strains of protein-rich corn that can serve as a substitute for soybeans in animal feed, a potential game-changer for China's drive to reduce its reliance on overseas grain.
China has been forced to import soybeans in huge quantities in recent years to fuel its expanding livestock industry, as Chinese consumers adopt an increasing meat and dairy-heavy diet.
Beijing sees the growing dependence on foreign agricultural products as a threat to the nation's food security, as well as a potential issue of contention amid an intensifying trade war with the United States.
Developing higher-protein corn to replace soybeans in animal feed is seen as a potential solution, and researchers at China's Huazhong Agricultural University have already developed several promising varieties, according to the university's president.
Given China's vast corn production, an improvement of just 1percentage point in the protein content of the grain could reduce China's demand for foreign soybeans by up to 8 million tonnes, Yan Jianbing, Huazhong's president, told reporters during last week's "two sessions" — the annual meeting of China's top legislative and consultative bodies.
China has been placing increasing emphasis on food security amid a rise in geopolitical tensions and uncertainties in the international market.
China's soybean imports account for about 60 percent of the world's total trade volume for the grain, and the U.S. has long been one of the country's largest suppliers alongside Brazil.
This dependence on American soybeans has been a double-edged sword for Beijing. In the past, it has weaponized the trade by threatening to reduce purchases of U.S. grain, hurting the incomes of farmers in the Midwest.
Just this month, China slapped tariffs on U.S. agricultural products — including soybeans — in retaliation for Washington's hike in duties on Chinese goods.
But its reliance on U.S. grain is also a potential strategic weakness, and China has been steadily moving to diversify its soybean supply in recent years. The U.S. now accounts for more than one-fifth of Chinese imports, down from nearly 40 percent a decade ago.
Source: Korea Times