An official with the State Cereal and Oil Information Center (SCOIC) predicted that China will import less soybean in 2004-2005 than in the previous year.

In 2003-2004, China imported 16.5 million tons of soybean.

Cao Zhi, section director in charge of market supervision underthe SCOIC, said, however, the country will still rely on imports to help balance the soybean supply and demand on the domestic market.

China is currently introducing new permit certificates pertaining to soybean import procedures, Cao acknowledged. And theState General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has, since June this year, begun to issue the permits to importers in an orderly way.

Industry insiders regard China's soybean demand as a crucial factor having a bearing on the soybean price the world over.

An official of the United States Department of Agriculture predicted that China's import of soybean could reach 24 million tons in 2004-2005, but Chinese domestic market observers indicateda much lower import figure for the year.

Liu Zhaofu, general manager of the China Soybean Network, notedthat during the year, on the supply side, the domestic soybean output would increase by a large margin thanks to genial weather and practical, effective government support.

China's northernmost Heilongjiang province, a major soybean base in the country, is expected to yield 10.45 million tons of soybean this year, 3.2 million tons more than in 2003.

Moreover, the country's domestic demand for soybean dregs is bearish whereas the storage of soybeans is still abundant in soybean processing companies nationwide, Liu said.

Source: Xinhua