Impact of US-China trade war on soybean meal in the Philippines

The trade war between Beijing and Washington has had a great impact on the Philippines since it first started in 2018. According to the Philippine Association of Feed Millers Inc. (PAFMI), the Philippines is expecting prices of commodities such as soybean and soybean meal to decrease whenever China states it would stop buying from the US and will purchase from other sources like Brazil and Argentina. The price of soybean meal mainly used for livestock feed has dropped by 2 PHP per kilogram since the escalation of the US-China trade war. The price drop has helped keep local feed prices in check and reduced production costs of domestic meat products, even during the pandemic. However, the importers don't see the US reducing its soybean meal exports to the Philippines, as the country is the US' top market for soybean meal. This may continue for another year or two.