China to buy more homegrown soybeans for reserves

China will step up buying of domestic soybeans by state reserves to encourage farmers to keep planting the crop, the agriculture ministry said on Thursday, as Beijing continues to push for greater self-sufficiency in oilseed. China started to increase soybean planting a year ago amid worries about its heavy reliance on imports of protein-rich beans to feed its huge herd of livestock. But after boosting planting by 22% last year, farmers struggled to sell their crop, which is priced higher than genetically modified imported soybeans and predominantly sold for food use. China will guide its state stockpiler to plan new purchases of domestically produced soybeans in the producing regions of Heilongjiang province and Inner Mongolia, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said in a statement. The stockpiler should “increase the intensity of purchase and storage, release positive signals, and make use of the role of market guidance” it said. State-owned companies such as COFCO ...