China turns to high-protein corn as an alternative to imported soy

first year growing this corn. It looks ordinary, but the protein content is significantly higher,” said Qi Hongbo, head of an agricultural cooperative in Lishu County. The project is led by Yan Jianbin, president of Huazhong Agricultural University. Research shows that increasing protein content in corn by 1% provides an additional 2.8 million tons of protein, equivalent to 7 million tons of soy. Raising the protein content from 8% to 12% could allow China to reduce soy imports by nearly 30 million tons annually — about one-third of current volumes. Given that soy imports in 2024 reached 105 ...