China Daily:

Last year, China imported large amounts of soybeans, mainly driven by the use of soybean meal for animal feed. What measures will be taken by the MARA to reduce soybean meal imports? And what is the current effect? Thank you.

Chen Bangxun:

China indeed imported large amounts of soybeans, which has attracted wide public attention. Soybean meal is an important protein source for feed. In recent years, with the increase in the number of livestock and poultry, the consumption of soybean meal has continued to rise, becoming a key factor for boosting soybean imports. Just as I mentioned, in 2023, China's soybean imports reached 99.41 million metric tons, up 11.4% over the previous year. At present, soybean meal accounts for a relatively large proportion of animal feed in China, and that could be further reduced based on the practice of large animal farming enterprises. In 2023, the MARA launched a three-year action plan on the reduction and substitution of soybean meal in animal feed, aiming to guide the sound use of feed in fish breeding and poultry raising, lower the use of soybean meal, and reduce consumption. This can be explained clearly in three points.

First, soybean meal reduction and substitution are sound and practicable. Soybean meal is a high-protein feed for animals to help supplement amino acids. According to relevant studies, livestock and poultry breeding actually do not require such a high level of protein consumption at present. According to the action plan on the reduction and substitution of soybean meal, we will promote the application of low-protein diet technology across the board. By adopting precise feed formulations and refined processing technologies, in combination with feed additives such as synthetic amino acids, we aim to meet the nutritional requirements of animals while reducing protein consumption. Practices have proved that application of this technology can reduce the consumption of soybean meal without affecting the efficiency of livestock and poultry production.

Second, besides reducing the use of soybean meal, we need to explore alternatives for it. In addition to soybean meal, there are also various resources, including byproducts of grain processing and microbial protein, which can be tapped into as feeds. We should make full use of these resources, expand alternative sources of protein feeds, and at the same time, try to increase the supply of high-quality forage to promote the "replacement of traditional feeds with forage" in cattle and sheep farming.

Third, soybean meal reduction and substitution have brought about conspicuous effects and will continue to be advanced. Since the launch of the action plan on the reduction and substitution of soybean meal, we have advanced the reduction of its use in animal husbandry, with its proportion in feed formulation dropping to 13%, down 1.5 percentage points compared with 2022. It is equivalent to a reduction of about 9 million metric tons of soybeans, calculated by annual consumption of feeds.

Next, the MARA will adopt a problem-oriented approach and work on both supply and demand sides. As well as consolidating and enhancing soybean production capacity, we will make efforts to reduce the consumption of soybean meal in animal feed. We will further advance the application of low-protein diet technology, explore and utilize resources of other protein feeds, increase the supply of high-quality forage, and continue to promote grain conservation and consumption reduction in livestock and poultry breeding. Thank you.