China is on track to slash its reliance on imported soybeans to less than 30 per cent within a decade, from the current 90 per cent, research from Goldman Sachs suggests, as Beijing accelerates efforts to shore up self-sufficiency – including inoculating its food supply against trade shocks.
Demand-management strategies for the crop – a vital source of cooking oil and animal feed, as well as a key commodity at the centre of Beijing’s trade relations with Washington – reduced annual consumption by 15 million tonnes between 2021 and 2024, the investment bank’s analysts, led by Trina Chen, said in a note on Tuesday.
