The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
  • Hangzhou Asian Games
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
  • Hangzhou Asian Games
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    Korea's Coast Guard apprehends 22 Chinese after illegal entry attempt

  • 3

    Ruling party vows to investigate China's alleged influence operations

  • 5

    TREASURE takes flak for excluding Dokdo from its Japan tour map

  • 7

    SEVENTEEN's unique approach to artistry: A deep dive into self-production and collaboration

  • 9

    Koreans' happiness rising slowly but surely: presidential panel

  • 11

    Korea wins gold medal in men's team Go

  • 13

    Korean shipbuilders seek lead over Chinese rivals in selling LNG carriers to Qatar

  • 15

    30 out of 74 major financial companies lack female board member

  • 17

    Traffic on major expressways eases on final day of holiday

  • 19

    BTS' Jungkook to release first solo album 'Golden'

  • 2

    Public transit fares to increase in Seoul and Busan this week

  • 4

    Genesis GV80 Coupe looks to compete with Mercedes-Benz, BMW

  • 6

    Korean steelmakers on alert over initiation of EU carbon border tariff

  • 8

    Block Party returns to Yongsan for 2nd year

  • 10

    Korea crashes out of medal contention in men's basketball

  • 12

    Pilot dead after civilian helicopter crashes into reservoir in Pocheon

  • 14

    Dream-pop band Nice Legs revisits Korea for Block Party

  • 16

    Dong-A Socio Group’s honorary chairman passes away at 96

  • 18

    Hyundai, Kia to extend earnings rally on strengthening dollar, solid sales

  • 20

    Lawmakers want chairmen of financial firms held accountable over misconduct

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
Thu, October 5, 2023 | 08:26
SCMP
Russia offers 2.5 million-acre land to soybean-hungry China
Posted : 2018-08-15 13:54
Updated : 2018-08-15 13:55
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
Chinese agriculture firms could take advantage of Russia's offer of 1 million hectares of farmland to grow much-needed soybeans. Reuters
Chinese agriculture firms could take advantage of Russia's offer of 1 million hectares of farmland to grow much-needed soybeans. Reuters

By Sarah Zheng

Chinese agriculture firms could take advantage of Russia's offer of 1 million hectares of farmland to grow much-needed soybeans. Reuters
Russia has made 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of arable land available to foreign investors ― and while that could be boon for Beijing as it struggles with limited supplies of soybeans in its trade war with the US, analysts are concerned about the quality of the plots available.

Valery Dubrovskiy, director of investment for the Far East Investment and Export Agency, a non-profit organisation, said on Tuesday that several Chinese companies had already expressed an interest in the deal.

"We expect most of the investment to come from China," he said. "We expect 50 per cent from China, 25 per cent from Russia and 25 per cent from other countries, like Japan and Korea."

The announcement means that all of the 3 million hectares of arable land in Russia's Far Eastern Federal District is now available to farmers, Dubrovskiy said, adding that the space is suitable for dairy farming or the growing of crops, such as soybeans, wheat and potatoes.

While this reflects a significant increase in cooperation between Chinese agribusinesses and the Far East in recent years, observers are sceptical about the quality of the land being offered to foreign operators.

Dmitri Rylko, general director of the Russian consultancy Institute for Agricultural Market Studies, said most of the fertile land in the Far East region had already been taken, although Chinese businesses had increasingly been signing leases and other temporary agreements.

"[The] best lands are occupied and have been heavily exploited by domestic farmers, so if they want more, it will be predominately in remote and low productivity areas," he said.

Moscow has been trying for years to attract foreign investment to develop the region's economy, including handing out free plots to Russians in 2016, said Jiayi Zhou, a researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

"[But] basic infrastructure and transport are poor. Peri-urban land, which is better connected to the market, may be more attractive to developers, but less available," she said.

Chinese agriculture firms could take advantage of Russia's offer of 1 million hectares of farmland to grow much-needed soybeans. Reuters
An employee picks out bad beans from a pile of soybeans at a supermarket in Wuhan, Hubei province April 14, 2014. Chinese importers have defaulted on at least 500,000 tonnes of U.S. and Brazilian soybean cargoes worth around $300 million, the biggest in a decade, as buyers struggle to get credit amid losses in processing beans. REUTERS

With the China-US trade war showing no signs of abating, and after Beijing slapped 25 per cent tariffs on soybeans imported from America, the legume ― for which China has a voracious appetite ― is very much in the firing line.

Chinese farmers may therefore be attracted by the offer of a huge swathe of cheap arable land in Russia's main soybean growing region.

Beijing has already significantly reduced its soybean purchases from the US, and as a result bought a record 850,000 tonnes of them from Russia between July 2017 and the end of May, according to figures from the Russian agriculture agency Rosselkhoznadzor.

But that represents only a fraction of the 800 million tonnes of soybeans China has imported so far this year, according to the latest figures from its customs agency.

The agriculture ministry in Beijing said earlier it had ramped up domestic soybean production "significantly" to deal with the threat of shortages, and would make a further 1 million hectares of land available for growing the crop over the next two years.

Zhang Xin, a Russian studies expert at East China Normal University in Shanghai, said that while Russia's offer of agricultural land was a sign of the apparent desire on both sides to increase cooperation, the deal still had obstacles to overcome.

"In the Far East in particular there has been political resistance, including from residents, to Chinese companies renting land for agricultural production," he said.

"[Their] concerns regard the large influx of Chinese workers and a dissatisfaction with Chinese farming methods … like using too many pesticides and fertilisers."

And while the decision to make the land available to foreign investors was probably made in Moscow, "whether it can be implemented smoothly depends on local acceptance in the Far East", he said.

Besides crops, the two countries have also boosted cooperation in the agricultural sector with Russia's purchases of pesticides and farm machinery from China.

"But we need investment in the sphere of deep processing of agricultural products, rather than the usual cultivation of crops," Sinegovskiy Mikhail Olegovich, head of the economics team at the All-Russian Research Institute of Soybean.


 
wooribank
LG
Top 10 Stories
1POSCO Future M, LG Chem, EcoPro BM hit by plunging lithium, nickel prices POSCO Future M, LG Chem, EcoPro BM hit by plunging lithium, nickel prices
2Gangnam gears up for festival showcasing various K-culture events Gangnam gears up for festival showcasing various K-culture events
3North Korea lays groundwork for US disarmament talks: experts North Korea lays groundwork for US disarmament talks: experts
4South Korea to found cyberwarfare reserve forces in 2025 South Korea to found cyberwarfare reserve forces in 2025
5Samsung targets mid-range market with affordable S23 FE Samsung targets mid-range market with affordable S23 FE
6Bank of Korea takes first step to adopt centralized digital currency Bank of Korea takes first step to adopt centralized digital currency
7Seoul's parks abuzz with fall festivals Seoul's parks abuzz with fall festivals
8Task force planned to prevent opinion-rigging on Daum portal Task force planned to prevent opinion-rigging on Daum portal
9Seoul to invest W5 tril. to become fintech powerhouse Seoul to invest W5 tril. to become fintech powerhouse
10Seoul stocks tumble on concerns over Fed's prolonged monetary tightening Seoul stocks tumble on concerns over Fed's prolonged monetary tightening
Top 5 Entertainment News
1Crime thriller, romance series set to roll out in October Crime thriller, romance series set to roll out in October
2Korean literature featured as animation works at Incheon Airport Korean literature featured as animation works at Incheon Airport
328th BIFF opens with star-studded red carpet event28th BIFF opens with star-studded red carpet event
4[PHOTOS] Kep1er returns with 'Magic Hour' to mesmerize fans PHOTOSKep1er returns with 'Magic Hour' to mesmerize fans
5TREASURE takes flak for excluding Dokdo from its Japan tour map TREASURE takes flak for excluding Dokdo from its Japan tour map
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group