China soybean meal prices rise 4% year-on-year as corn remains cheaper

Soybean meal prices in China continued to rise in late September, while corn prices remained stable. The average soybean meal price reached 3.41 yuan/kg, up 0.9% week-on-week and 4% year-on-year.

At the same time, the average corn price held at 2.45 yuan/kg and was 1.2% lower year-on-year. In key producing regions in northeastern China, corn remained unchanged at 2.31 yuan/kg.

Higher soybean meal prices are already beginning to feed through into compound feed costs. The average price of feed for laying hens rose by 0.3% over the week and by 0.6% year-on-year to 3.25 yuan/kg.

Meanwhile, feed prices for pigs and broilers remained stable at 3.36 and 3.49 yuan/kg, respectively. Both were around 0.6% lower than a year earlier.

In the livestock market, hog prices continued to decline, while beef and mutton prices increased. Combined with higher soybean meal costs, this trend could put additional pressure on producer margins in sectors where protein feed accounts for a significant share of production costs.

Tags: corn, prices, soybean meal, compound feed, China