China to expand soybean crop and farm subsidies to cut reliance on US imports
- Measures will add to 8.2 million hectares planted by Chinese farmers in 2017/18
- Agriculture ministry wants higher-yield soy varieties used and more rapeseed planted
China plans to expand the amount of land it uses to grow soybeans and other oilseeds by about 330,000 hectares (815,448 acres) in 2019, the Ministry of Agriculture said on Thursday.
The ministry did not give details of country’s oilseed acreage in 2018, but the soybean area in the 2017/18 crop year that ended in September was 8.245 million hectares. The vast majority of China’s oilseed crop is made up of soybeans.
The announcement came after China released its first policy statement of the year, which included efforts to increase soybean production.
China is involved in a trade war with the United States, its second largest supplier of soybeans. It has been looking for ways to reduce its reliance on US soybeans, although the sides have been in talks aimed at ending the dispute.