China Hungers for
Record Number of Soybeans
Global demand can be… well, demanding on food prices. While the soybean market has little impact retail food prices, China’s recent $4.8 billion soybean purchase demonstrates the changing global demand.

Earlier this week, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan attended a ceremony where 14 Chinese companies signed contracts to buy 436 million bushels of soybeans. That’s 10% of the soybeans grown in the U.S. and 45% of all American soybeans exported. (The contracts signed apply to the 2008-09 marketing year.) This sets the record for the most soybeans that the United States sold to a single country in one year.

This positive trade balance is good for the nation. Soybeans are the number one U.S. farm export, valued at more than $10 billion annually. Don’t worry, though. There’s enough to go around.Thanks to innovations, such as biotechnology and modern farming equipment, American farmers are producing record amounts of soybeans on the same land area.

Useful Links
American Soybean Association
United Soybean Board
United States Soybean Export Council