Chinanews, Harbin, Feb. 12 – In the past, farmers growing soybeans usually did not have to worry about the sales of their products. Since soybeans had usually sold well, they were also called “golden beans”. However, things have changed now. Most farmers that grow soybeans today have a very hard time, Heilongjiang Daily reported.

 

In 1997, China adopted a market scheme in the purchase and distribution of soybeans, as the first step to open its agricultural market. Since then, Chinese soybean import soared from 2.79 million tons in 1997 to 28.27 million tons last year, increasing tenfold in a decade. Soybeans produced by foreign countries have flowed into domestic market, foreign soybean growing companies have selected China’s northeastern region as their processing base, and foreign edible oils companies are trying to control domestic edible oil industry by buying shares of domestic oil companies. All these have pushed domestic soybean industry to the verge of extinction.

 

Statistics show that over the past few years, the soybean plantation area in Heilongjiang, one of the major soybean growing bases in China, has kept decreasing and the sales price of soybeans has dropped continuously. Both farmers and oil companies have suffered greatly. Heilongjiang, which used to boast of 50% of the soybean production and export volume in China, is experiencing a most difficult time, when piles of soybeans are stored in granaries and their selling price is even below their production cost.

 

Many experts have called for saving the Chinese soybean industry, saying that we can not afford to lose soybean industry; more importantly, the fate of soybeans has clearly sent a warning to other agricultural industries in China. If we don’t do something about it, the same fate might befall other Chinese crops, including rice, whose industrial situation is still good at present.