Well-known Chinese news site Tencent News recently reported that the China Feed Industry Association (CFIA) proposed an amendment to the Chinese standard that had set an upper limit on the percentage of protein in pig fodder. CFIA’s proposal explained that, with the improvements in animal nutrition research, a reasonable addition of amino acids and enzyme preparations will lead to a significantly lowered requirement for the percentage of protein needed in pig fodder. China’s pork industry heavily depends on soybean-based cardamom as the source to feed pigs. The current Chinese tariff sanction against the U.S. soybean, which was aiming to hurt the U.S soybean farmers who are mostly Trump supporters, has led to a rapidly increasing soybean import cost for the Chinese pork industry. Recent weather conditions in the Americas are supporting the growth of the U.S. soybean, while weakening the Brazilian output. Soybean and cardamom prices are facing a sustained increase globally. CIFA’s proposal of setting an upper limit for protein is widely recognized as an excuse to deal with the soybean shortage.
Source: Tencent News, October 10, 2018
https://new.qq.com/omn/20181009/20181009A24Z49.html