Taiwan to increase soybean imports due to increased feed demand

According to a report by the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), after Taiwan’s feed demand declined last year due to animal diseases, consumption is expected to rebound in the 2023-24 marketing year, leading to an increase in soybean imports.

Soybean imports are forecast to increase 3.5% to 2.65 million tons to meet the increased demand for feed, which FAS said is ” driven by the recovery of the pork and poultry sectors.”

Taiwan produces very little soybeans (about 6,000 tons) due to the predominance of rice and other crops, lack of available farmland and import competitiveness, FAS said. But production has risen from near zero in 2012.

Taiwan faces a number of obstacles related to soybean imports. FAS noted that in the first half of the current marketing year, logistical problems in the Panama Canal and the Red Sea region made it difficult to obtain bulk supplies from the U.S., one of the largest suppliers of soybeans. In addition, a measure introduced by the Taiwanese government in 2022, which removed commercial duties on soybean imports to stabilize raw material prices and reduce inflationary pressures, expires in June 2024, FAS said.

Tags: soybean, Taiwan