Situation and Development Trend of Chinese Soybean Protein Industry
Author: CHEMSTA Team
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Abstract: With the increasing needs of the Chinese people for a better life and the rapid development of science and technology, the development of China’s food industry, especially the soybean protein processing industry, has reached a new level. In order to better guide the healthy and sustainable development of the soybean protein processing industry, it is particularly important to study the current situation and development trends of the soybean protein processing industry. This paper introduces the supply and demand of soybean protein raw materials, the scale of processing enterprises, product structure in China, and main problems that exist from four aspects: raw materials, industrial chain, processing enterprises, and market demand; analyzes the development trend, application prospects, and urgent difficulties that need to be solved of the soybean protein industry, summarizes the competitive advantages of domestic soybeans in the soybean protein processing industry, in order to form a pattern of dislocation competition and mutual supplementation with imported soybeans, to promote the long-term high-quality development of China’s soybean protein industry.
Key words: soybean protein; processing chain; product structure; development trend
Soybeans originated in China and are often referred to as the “king of beans.” They have been cultivated and utilized in China for over 4,000 years, giving rise to a rich and diverse soybean-based food culture that includes tofu, soy milk, soybean oil, and soy protein. In ancient times, soybeans, along with rice and millet, sustained generations of Chinese people; today, soybean cultivation remains an important component of Chinese agriculture. Protein is the primary component of soybeans, accounting for approximately 30–50% depending on the variety [1]. Any processing of soybeans involves the processing of soybean protein, and all its products necessarily contain protein; thus, soybean processing can also be referred to as soybean protein processing. Soy protein is a plant-based complete protein containing essential amino acids that the human body cannot synthesize, with a complete range of types, balanced proportions, and abundant content. Lysine and leucine are particularly abundant, accounting for 6.0-6.9% and 7.4-8.4%, respectively[1]. Soy protein is the preferred plant-based protein resource to replace animal protein, effectively preventing cholesterol intake and reducing saturated fat intake. It has functions such as lowering blood lipids, improving insulin sensitivity, reducing body fat, and lowering neutral fats. Additionally, soy protein products possess multiple functional characteristics, including emulsification, gelation, foaming, and antibacterial properties [14-16]. Since the 1980s, China has gradually achieved industrial-scale production of soy protein, using soybean meal (the residue after defatting soybeans) as raw material, and employing imported production processes and equipment to produce separated protein and concentrated protein products.
Currently, China has limited varieties of soybean raw materials, lacking differentiated varieties to meet the diverse needs of different soy protein products; breeding technology and promotion are disconnected, with small-scale soybean breeding companies lacking independent innovation capabilities, primarily regional enterprises, and few large-scale leading companies; Although there are many enterprises processing plant-based foods using soybean isolate products, issues such as bean odor and anti-nutritional factors in their foods have not been effectively resolved, leading to strict restrictions on the addition of soybean isolate. Currently, most of the market consists of small factories and workshops. Soy protein processing remains primarily focused on crude processing. The extracted soybean oil is mainly used for food consumption, while the produced soybean meal is primarily used as a protein additive in feed for the feed industry to produce animal protein. Only a small portion of soybean meal is used to produce isolated protein, concentrated protein, and textured protein, which then enter the food sector. Therefore, the protein processing industry faces numerous challenges, including limited soybean varieties, insufficient specialized soybean varieties, an overabundance of soybean primary processing enterprises, severe homogenization of soybean protein deep-processing products, and a lack of high-value-added and differentiated product categories [2-8].
This paper outlines the current status of soybean protein raw material supply and demand, processing enterprise scale, product structure, and the primary issues faced in China. It analyzes the development trends, application prospects, and key challenges of the soybean protein industry, summarizes the competitive advantages of domestically produced soybeans in the soybean protein processing industry, and aims to establish a complementary and mutually reinforcing competitive landscape with imported soybeans, thereby promoting the long-term high-quality development of China’s soybean protein industry.
Current Status of China’s Soy Protein Industry
1.1 Soybean Raw Material Supply Situation
China’s soybean processing volume in 2022 is shown in Table 1. As can be seen from Table 1, China’s total soybean processing volume in 2022 exceeded 110 million tons, of which 89.3888 million tons were genetically modified soybeans, accounting for 80.27%, and 21.9722 million tons were non-genetically modified soybeans, accounting for 19.73%. GM soybeans are primarily imported from Brazil and the United States, with Brazil accounting for 60.86% and the United States for 32.48%. Other countries from which GM soybeans are imported include Argentina and Uruguay. Meanwhile, China imports non-GMO soybeans from countries such as the United States, Russia, Benin, Canada, and Ukraine. Russia accounts for 41.00%, the United States for 29.70%, Benin for 12.40%, Canada for 11.30%, and Ukraine for 4.00%.
Table 1 Soybean Processing Capacity in China in 2022 (10,000Tons)
1.2 Current Status of the Soy Protein Industry Chain
Genetically modified soybeans and non-genetically modified soybean products have different uses, but both undergo physical, chemical, and microbiological processing before being further processed into feed, food products, and other derivatives [10-12]. As shown in Figure 1, soy protein can be divided into crude processing and deep processing. Crude processing of non-genetically modified soybeans includes high-temperature soybean meal, low-denatured soybean meal, soy products, and direct consumption. High-temperature soybean meal can be further processed into conventional feed and fermented products, while low-denatured soybean meal can be further processed into isolated protein, concentrated protein, and textured protein, ultimately used in the production of plant-based foods. The primary processing of genetically modified soybeans includes high-temperature soybean meal and protein meal, which can be further processed into feed and concentrated protein products.
Currently, non-genetically modified soybean protein products are primarily used in food processing for human consumption; genetically modified soybean protein products are primarily used in the feed processing industry for livestock, poultry, and aquaculture. According to data from the China Feed Industry Association, in 2022, soybean feed meal reached 65.8 million tons, while food meal reached 2.1 million tons. Feed meal can be directly used as feed ingredients or as raw materials for concentrated protein and fermented soybean meal. According to incomplete statistics from the China Feed Industry Association, in 2022, the production of fermented soybean meal using feed meal as raw material for further processing was 700,000 tons, and the production of feed-grade concentrated protein was 300,000 tons. Food meal is primarily used for processing separated protein, concentrated protein, and other products. Low-denatured soybean meal is used as raw material for deep processing products, including protein isolate, alcohol-based concentrated protein (SPC), acid-based concentrated protein, modified concentrated protein, and textured soy protein. The highest production of soybean protein isolate (SPI) in 2022 was 500,000 tons, soybean fiber protein was 300,000 tons, alcohol-based soybean concentrated protein (SPC) was 200,000 tons, modified soybean concentrated protein was 50,000 tons, and acid-based soybean concentrated protein had the lowest production at 30,000 tons.
1.3 Situation of Soybean Protein Processing Enterprises
The number of registered soybean protein processing enterprises in China has been growing overall. The end of 2021, there were approximately 30,000 soybean protein processing-related enterprises in China, with 39 soybean low-temperature meal production lines and a production capacity of 20,000 tons per day. Shandong and Heilongjiang provinces lead the nation in the number and production capacity of soybean low-temperature meal production lines, with both provinces accounting for over 80% of the national total in terms of both the number of production lines and production capacity. Soybean concentrate protein production lines are relatively scarce. As of the end of 2021, the number of food-grade soybean concentrate protein and feed-grade soybean concentrate protein production enterprises in China are shown in Tables 2 and 3, respectively.
Table 2 Current Status of Food-Grade Soybean Concentrate Protein Production in China
Table 3 Current Status of Feed-Grade Soybean Concentrate Protein Production in China
As shown in Tables 2 and 3, China’s annual production capacity for food-grade soybean concentrate protein reaches 250,000 tons, while that for feed-grade soybean concentrate protein reaches 290,000 tons. Among the food-grade soybean concentrate protein production lines, all lines except those of a certain company in Daqing, a certain company in Zhalantun, and a certain company in Keshan are operating normally and selling products; Among the feed-grade soybean concentrate production lines, all others are operating normally and selling products. Among them, the 90,000-ton-per-year feed-grade soybean concentrate production line of Fujian Changde is currently the largest production line in China. This production line adopts a two-step extraction and integrated drying and evaporation energy-saving process, featuring a green and energy-efficient process route. The steam consumption is 50% of that of internationally advanced equipment of the same type, reaching 800 kg/ton (based on raw material weight). On July 15, 2019, the China Oil and Grain Association organized renowned experts and professors from the industry to evaluate CHEMSTA’s “Development and Industrialization of Large-Scale Intelligent Integrated Equipment Technology for Alcohol-Based Soybean Concentrate Protein” project, forming the following evaluation opinions: The integrated equipment technology developed by the project holds independent intellectual property rights, with significant economic and social benefits, and the overall technical level reaches the international leading standard [13].
1.4 Market Demand for Soy Protein
The market size and growth rate of China’s soy protein industry from 2015 to 2019 are shown in Figure 2. As can be seen from Figure 2, China’s soy protein market has maintained stable growth in recent years, with the market size reaching 12.752 billion yuan in 2019, a year-on-year increase of 2.3%.
Soy protein is primarily divided into three categories based on processing methods: concentrated protein, protein powder (also known as isolated protein), and textured protein (also known as spun protein). Protein powder contains 90% protein, is cholesterol-free, and has an amino acid composition ratio that is easily absorbed by the human body, making it widely used in food additives or ingredients, soy-based infant formula, and food nutritional supplements. Textured soy protein contains over 55% protein, has excellent water and oil absorption properties, and is processed through mixing, extrusion, and shearing to form granular, block, or strip shapes with muscle texture structures similar to animal protein. The product has strong realistic texture and appearance, making it suitable for use in the production of meatballs, sausages, vegetarian ham, and meat fillings. It effectively combines the low cholesterol content of soy protein with the good fiber structure and chewiness of animal protein, making it a high-protein, low-fat food [5-7]. Replacing animal protein with textured soy protein can reduce production costs, increase the soy protein content in food, and improve dietary structure [17]. Protein powder accounts for approximately one-third of sales, while textured soy protein accounts for two-thirds. The demand for textured soy protein and soy protein powder in China from 2015 to 2019 is shown in Figure 3. As shown in Figure 3, the demand for textured soy protein in China in 2019 was 722,000 tons, while the demand for protein powder was 397,000 tons.
Soybean feed meal is a high-quality protein ingredient in feed. Due to various factors such as the feeding cycle of downstream livestock farming, import quotas, and the international economic environment, the demand for feed meal has experienced significant fluctuations in both quantity and price. However, the overall supply and demand remain generally balanced. The China Feed Industry Association has released data on China’s industrial feed and soybean meal production and growth from 2016 to 2022, as shown in Figure 4. As shown in Figure 4: In 2022, China’s total industrial feed production reached 30,223.4 million tons, an increase of 3.0% from the previous year; in 2022, soybean meal production reached 7,989.7 million tons, an increase of 4.0% from the previous year.
Issues in China’s Soy Protein Industry
2.1 Supply and Demand Issues for Soy Protein Raw Materials
China consumes over 110 million tons of soybeans annually. As the world’s largest soybean importer, China relies on imports for genetically modified soybeans. While imports of non-genetically modified soybeans are limited, even in 2022—the year of the highest domestic production—the domestic output of 20.28 million tons was insufficient to meet market demand.
Despite China’s extensive soybean cultivation area and wide geographical distribution, the following issues persist: First, there is a limited variety of soybeans, lacking differentiated varieties that can meet the diverse needs of different soy protein products. For example, soy protein products require varieties with enriched 7S and 11S proteins and low sugar content, while soy milk and soy beverage processing require varieties with low levels of unsaturated fatty acids. However, enterprises and research institutions have lagged behind in biotechnology-based breeding techniques, and have not achieved substantial breakthroughs in large-scale experimental cultivation of ideal plant types with different component ratios tailored to specific product requirements; Second, there is a disconnect between breeding technology and its application in China. Soybean breeding companies are small in scale, lack independent innovation capabilities, and are primarily regional enterprises, with few large-scale leading companies. Third, processing companies and soybean planting bases cannot establish precise traceability chains, making it difficult to ensure the origin of soybean varieties. The scope of storage and procurement is broad and diverse, increasing post-processing costs and significantly reducing production efficiency. Therefore, enhancing independent innovation capabilities, addressing shortcomings in the soybean seed industry, and establishing a precise matching and integration mechanism between soybean raw material demand and production supply are of great significance for improving China’s soybean self-sufficiency and ensuring the safety of edible protein supply.
2.2 Issues Faced by Soybean Protein Processing Enterprises
Research into advanced processing technologies for soybeans in China began relatively late, with most operations still in the initial processing stage. Currently, there are approximately 30,000 soy protein companies in China, including 115 soybean processing plants with a capacity of 1,000 tons per day or more, totaling a production capacity of 440,000 tons per day, which is severely oversupplied.
As of the end of 2022, there were 26 soybean protein isolate companies in China, with a production capacity of 800,000 tons per year, but the utilization rate was insufficient. Soybean protein isolate companies primarily use the alkali solubilization and acid precipitation method for protein extraction and separation. Each ton of protein isolate produced consumes approximately 18 tons of steam and generates around 40 tons of whey wastewater [5]. Whey wastewater contains a large amount of organic matter [6]. If discharged directly, it would cause severe environmental pollution and damage, necessitating a series of complex treatments before discharge. Although effective wastewater treatment processes have been developed to decompose and recycle whey wastewater, the high energy consumption and production costs associated with the integrated soy protein isolate and wastewater treatment processes result in excessively high product prices, lacking market competitiveness.
Although there are many plant-based food companies using soy protein isolate as the main raw material, the issues of bean odor and anti-nutritional factors in food have not been effectively resolved, leading to strict restrictions on the addition of soy protein isolate. Currently, most of the market consists of small factories and workshops producing a limited range of products, resulting in overcapacity, while large-scale leading enterprises producing high-value-added products are lacking.
2.3 Issues with the structure of soy protein products
Currently, soybeans are primarily used in three main areas: solvent extraction or pressing to produce edible oil, full-fat or defatted soybean meal for animal feed, and food processing.
Imported soybeans in China are primarily used for producing soybean oil and soybean meal feed. Soybean meal feed primarily uses ordinary soybean meal and concentrated protein as protein additives. Fermented soybean meal, a soybean deep-processing product, has high steam consumption (1–1.5 t/t) and suffers from significant quality fluctuations due to uneven fermentation, severely limiting its further development.
Domestically produced soybeans in China are primarily used for soy product processing and direct consumption, with limited production of soybean meal and protein-based processed products. Plant-based foods made from soy protein isolate face challenges due to soy odor and anti-nutritional factors, resulting in limited product diversity and inconsistent quality, which hinders market expansion.
Currently, China’s soy protein food industry has not yet broken free from the traditional food production model, and in terms of variety, appearance, and flavor, it lags significantly behind advanced countries. The Chinese soy protein industry also faces issues such as product homogeneity and price competition. High-value-added products like functional soy protein, bio-inspired foods, and fermented soybean meal are scarce in the market. Meanwhile, soybean processing companies are struggling due to overcapacity, which in turn affects upstream soy protein companies and soybean procurement prices.
Trends in China’s Soy Protein Industry
3.1 Soy Protein Raw Materials
The 14th Five-Year Plan for National Crop Development proposes that by 2025, soybean production should reach 23 million tons, an increase of 17.35% over 2020, to boost soybean self-sufficiency. The 2023 Central Document No. 1 was released, explicitly proposing to intensify efforts to expand soybean and oilseed cultivation; deepen the implementation of the soybean and oilseed production capacity enhancement project; steadily advance strip interplanting of soybeans and corn, support grain-soybean rotation in the Northeast and Huanghuaihai regions, and steadily develop and utilize saline-alkali land for soybean cultivation; improve subsidies for corn and soybean producers; clarify the 2023 soybean production targets, and incorporate them into the provincial Party committees and governments’ assessment of their shared responsibility for safeguarding farmland and ensuring food security.
According to data released by the General Administration of Customs, over the past decade, except for a slight decline in 2020, China’s soybean imports have increased year by year. In 2021, China’s non-GMO soybean production also showed an overall upward trend year by year. According to the “Statistical Bulletin on National Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China in 2022” released by the National Bureau of Statistics in 2023, due to the favorable policies introduced by the central and local governments to promote soybean production, China’s soybean production reached a record 20.28 million tons in 2022, an increase of 23.7%. It is expected that domestic non-GMO soybean production will enter a period of rapid growth for a considerable period of time in the future.
3.2 Soy Protein Products
According to recommendations from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the recommended daily protein intake per capita is 0.75 g/(d·kg), while the current average intake in China is only 0.5 g/(d·kg), which is two-thirds of the recommended value [4]. In recent years, people’s dietary consumption has increasingly prioritized safety, nutrition, and health value as the top priority, and the demand for protein products is no longer limited to traditional dietary channels.
Soy protein has a protein profile similar to that required by the human body, is cholesterol- and fat-free, and has abundant raw material sources, offering broad development prospects. China is the world’s largest soy protein market, accounting for approximately 50% of the market share, followed by the United States and Europe. In the future, consumers will place greater emphasis on the “natural and organic” nature of food, advocating the preservation of the original flavor of food and reducing processing steps. The trend toward “green diets” will directly drive the increase in consumption of soy protein products.
The rise of plant-based foods reflects people’s pursuit of a simple lifestyle, returning to simple and healthy diets—this is a dietary revolution. Reports indicate that global meat processing giants such as JBS (JBSAY), U.S. food conglomerates Tyson, Hormel, and Smithfield Foods, as well as international and domestic companies like Jinluo, Shuangta, Bifei’ai, and Meikang, along with large chain restaurants like KFC and FamilyMart, are all actively promoting plant-based foods. According to statistics from China International Capital Corporation (CICC), the demand for plant-based foods—vegetarian products made from soy protein isolate—has increased from 500,000 tons in 2015 to 900,000 tons in 2022, with projections reaching 1.2 million tons by 2026. Alcohol-based soybean concentrate protein, as a high-quality raw material for plant-based foods or feed, offers advantages such as high gelatinization properties, emulsification properties, a complete amino acid profile, rich amino acid content, extremely low levels of anti-nutritional factors, and no bean odor. It is expected to gradually replace soybean isolate protein and gain increasing popularity in the market.
Soy protein is widely used as a food ingredient in industries such as meat product processing and plant-based protein beverages, offering health and safety, nutritional richness, and meeting consumers’ preferences for product taste. By developing new soy protein products such as active protein powder, peptide powder, and gelatinous protein based on soy protein isolate, soy protein concentrate, and soy protein fiber, and expanding their application areas, we can continuously meet consumer demands.
3.3 Soy Protein Processing Enterprises
Soybean primary processing enterprises will concentrate on large-scale, intensive, and coastal development. As the profits of primary processing products decrease and competitiveness increases, the market will gradually eliminate small-scale, high-cost, and high-energy-consuming enterprises, and further optimize and improve the process routes and regional distribution of large enterprises.
As people’s awareness of nutrition and health grows, concerns about antibiotics and other adverse factors in animal-based foods, as well as attention to environmental protection and ecological sustainability, have led to heightened interest in plant-based foods. Plant-based food companies will develop in the direction of product diversification, complexity, and health and nutrition. As a raw material for plant-based foods, the soy protein industry will also develop rapidly. Soy protein separation enterprises, which are energy-intensive and highly polluting, are gradually being replaced by environmentally friendly, low-energy alcohol-based soy protein concentration enterprises. The development prospects for alcohol-based soy protein concentration enterprises are vast.
Conclusion
The people’s aspiration for a better life is our goal. As a branch of the agricultural by-product processing industry, the soy protein industry can extend the value chain of local oilseed crops, achieve processing value-added benefits, help upstream farmers increase their income, enrich the variety of foods on people’s tables, and meet people’s needs for a nutritious and healthy lifestyle. Its development has always been given high priority and strong support by the state. China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of non-GMO soybeans, and non-GMO soy protein products are also popular globally. Currently, enhancing China’s self-sufficiency in non-GMO soybeans and developing high-value-added soy protein products have become urgent issues for the soy protein industry. Alcohol-based soy protein concentrate products are particularly favored by the market due to their high nutritional value, low levels of anti-nutritional factors, absence of soybean odor, low energy consumption, no wastewater discharge, and environmentally friendly, clean production processes. The expansion and strengthening of the soybean deep processing industry will help leverage the competitive advantages of domestically produced soybeans, creating a complementary and mutually reinforcing relationship with imported soybeans. China’s soy protein industry will also achieve high-quality development on the global stage.
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