The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has called on the animal feed industry to reduce the use of soybean meal in animal feeds as part of the national food security plan.

The Ministry said that “the demand for feed grains continues to grow, and the most prominent contradiction in food security lies in feed grains. Soybean meal reduction and substitution is not only a passive choice to deal with the uncertainty of external supply but also an active action to implement the new development concept to promote high-quality development.” China is by far the world’s largest importer of soybeans.

In the past few years, the Ministry has been implementing soybean meal reduction and substitution actions, reducing soybean meal consumption and increasing the supply of alternative resources. As a result of the government's recent actions, in 2021, the proportion of soybean meal in aquafeeds consumed by the aquaculture industry drop to 15.3%, 2.5% lower than in 2017. The reduction saved 11 million tons of soybean meal, which was equivalent to 14 million tons of soybeans.

In a recent meeting, companies such as Muyuan Foods, New Hope Liuhe and Haida, unveiled how they have been cutting the use of soybean meal in animal feeds.