South Korean Soy Demand Softens

WASHINGTON - Feb 11/06 - SNS -- South Korean import demand for soybeans for processing into food products is down this season on account of bigger local crops, notes the U.S. agricultural attache for the country in a recent update on the commodity.

"Since 2002, the Korean government has encouraged rice farmers to convert from rice to food grade soybeans," the agricultural attache said. This contributed to an increase in soybean plantings to 104,421 hectares last year, up 19,151 hectares from the previous year. Soybean production jumped 32% to 183,338 metric tons (MT).

Bean imports are hurt by the fact local crushers have suffered from worsening crushing margins at the same time that soybean meal and oil prices have declined, making it difficult for domestically manufactured soybean meal and oil to compete with imported products from South America. Demand for soybeans for food processing was stable.

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