Demand for soybeans and soybean meal to grow in China

A USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) report predicts that China's soybean demand will increase in MY 2025/26 due to a slight decline in production and a rise in imports. The total domestic soybean consumption is expected to rise to 124.4 million tons, up from 122 million tons in 2024/25. Feed demand is gradually recovering, and the rise in animal protein demand and consolidation in the livestock sector are also contributing to the increase in demand. China's soybean imports are projected to reach 106 million tons in 2025-26, up 2% from the previous year.

China’s soybean demand is projected to increase in MY 2025/26 amid a slight decline in production and an increase in imports, according to a USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) report. In the March 19 Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report, FAS forecasts that China’s total domestic soybean consumption in 2025-26 will be 124.4 million tons, up from 122 million tons in 2024/25. Soybean production in 2025/26 is forecast at 101 million tons, up 2% from the previous year’s projected 99 million tons, as feed demand gradually recovers. China’s feed consumption of soybean meal will increase slightly to 101.8 million tons in 2025/26. Despite slowing economic growth and a shrinking population, rising demand for animal protein and consolidation in the livestock sector will continue to boost demand for plant-based feed protein, FAS notes. “Chinese consumer demand continues to shift from pork to poultry and seafood, which has slowed soybean meal demand growth,” FAS said. ...