Soybeans: are they used for food, feed or fuel? in China

China: Soybeans: are they used for food, feed or fuel? was 7.71 million tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
7.71 million tonnes
Change on year
up 6.3%
World rank
1st
of 190 countries
All-time high
7.75 million tonnes
in 2020
All-time low
2.81 million tonnes
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023

Soybeans: are they used for food, feed or fuel? in China, 1961–2023

02.0M4.0M6.0M8.0M196119922023

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

China recorded 7.71 million tonnes for soybeans: are they used for food, feed or fuel? in 2023.

The figure is up 6.3% on the previous year and up 75.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, soybeans: are they used for food, feed or fuel? in China peaked at 7.75 million tonnes in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.81 million tonnes, in 1961.

That places China 1st out of 190 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 3.49 million tonnes 2.81 million tonnes 4.10 million tonnes 9
1970s 3.82 million tonnes 3.55 million tonnes 4.25 million tonnes 10
1980s 3.92 million tonnes 3.65 million tonnes 4.29 million tonnes 10
1990s 5.10 million tonnes 3.49 million tonnes 6.89 million tonnes 10
2000s 4.86 million tonnes 4.34 million tonnes 5.18 million tonnes 10
2010s 5.55 million tonnes 4.16 million tonnes 7.03 million tonnes 10
2020s 7.52 million tonnes 7.25 million tonnes 7.75 million tonnes 4

Countries ranked near China

  1. 2 Indonesia 2.63 million tonnes compare
  2. 3 Japan 991,000 tonnes compare
  3. 4 Vietnam 533,000 tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 191 places →

More reference data data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is soybeans: are they used for food, feed or fuel? in China?
Soybeans: are they used for food, feed or fuel? in China was 7.71 million tonnes in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest soybeans: are they used for food, feed or fuel? recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 7.75 million tonnes in 2020.
What is the lowest soybeans: are they used for food, feed or fuel? recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 2.81 million tonnes in 1961.
How does China rank for soybeans: are they used for food, feed or fuel??
China ranks 1st out of 190 countries with data for 2023.
Is soybeans: are they used for food, feed or fuel? rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is up 75.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this China data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Soybeans: are they used for food, feed or fuel?. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Soybeans: are they used for food, feed or fuel?
Unit
tonnes
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
191 places, 9,615 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed

Quantity that is allocated for direct consumption as human food, rather than allocation to animal feed or industrial uses.