China: Oilseeds and Products Update

Lower government support for corn production continues to stimulate Chinese planting of oilseeds, primarily soybeans. As a result, MY17/18 soybean acreage is up by 9.8 percent compared to the previous year. The acreage expansion together with expected good yield supports a higher forecast for MY17/18 soybean production of 14.2 million metric tons (MMT), or a net growth of 1.3 MMT from the previous year. However, China’s rising demand for oilseeds continues to outpace the growth in domestic oilseed production. Chinese imports of oilseeds are expected to grow to another record forecast of 92.5 MMT in MY17/18, up by 1.5 MMT over the previous year estimate. Forecast economy growth of about 6.7 percent in 2017 and the ongoing modernization of China’s domestic feed and livestock sectors continue to boost consumption of oilseed products. In addition, soybean meal use is also up partly due to a significant fall in imports of distiller's dried grains (DDGS) since January 2017. 

China: Oilseeds and Products Update