China expands soybean plantation area to cut dependence on imports

HARBIN -- Major soybean growers in China are on an expansion mode to achieve a fast growth in domestic supply of high-quality soybean produce this year, while cutting the country's dependence on imports.

The seeding for soybeans is going on in Northeast China's Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, and Central Henan province, with an estimated planting expansion rate of over 10 percent this year.

China's soybean imports declined for the first time in seven years, according to the China Agricultural Sector Development Report 2019 released on Monday. The import volume was 88.03 million tonnes last year, down by 7.9 percent year on year.

Soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed Monday at the lowest level in more than 10 years, as traders showed increasing concerns about the escalating trade friction between the United States and China.

China announced Monday that it will raise the rate of additional tariffs imposed on some of the imported US products from June 1. This decision came after the US move to increase tariffs on 200 billion dollars worth of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent as of May 10.