Korean Soy Growth Displaces Rice
22 February 2006 With Korea’s soybean area increasing to 104,421 Ha (up 19,151 Ha from 2004), 2005 soybean production sharply increased to 183,338 metric tons (MT), 32% higher than in 2004.
In 2005/06, this increased soybean production is expected to lead to a reduction in the importation of soybeans for food processing, reports the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agriculture Service (USDA-FAS). Since 2002, the Korean government has encouraged rice farmers to convert from rice to food grade soybeans.
In 2004/05, soybean imports declined 9% from a year earlier to 1.24 million MT, due once again to narrow crushing margins. Local crushers have suffered from worsening crushing margins at the same time that soybean meal and oil prices have declined, making it difficult for domestically manufactured soybean meal and oil to compete with imported products from South America, most notably from Brazil.
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