Korea Suffers Soybean Shortage

~~[b]~~Korea Suffers Soybean Shortage [/b]

Korea is feeling the pain of the global grain crisis. For some time, small tofu makers have been having trouble operating their factories due to rising soybean prices. Now some are letting their factories idle because they can't get soybeans at all, no matter how much they are willing to pay.

Large businesses have yet to have problems purchasing soybeans, but they are also complaining about rising costs. Consumers haven't been exempted from the pain, either -- the market price of soybeans has almost doubled that of last year.

The Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corp. failed to import a planned 21,000 tons of soybeans late last year. A Chinese exporter broke a contract with the corporation last August to sell soybeans for US$495 a ton even though it had to pay a penalty. The trade corporation had to place an order for soybeans at $630 a ton with another trader.

Although it has not drawn as much attention as wheat, corn and rice, soybeans are at the center of the recent "agflation", or agricultural products inflation. The trading price of soybeans at the Chicago Board of Trade has been rising steadily, from $5.25 a bushel (27.2 kg) in October 2006 to $7.35 in January 2007 to $12.64 this month. This has caused the import price per ton paid by the Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corp. to increase from $330 in 2006 to $378 in 2007 to $690 currently. A supply shortage is part of the problem.

And to add to these woes is the rising price of corn. It is being diverted to make fuel, raising feed prices for whatever it is fed to.

There is at least 12,000 acres in our county devoted to aquaculture. The price of the feed has gone through the roof where farmers cannot even break even with an excellent crop. Add to these woes is the drought which lowered the water levels in the ponds. The only ones not effected were those with deep wells and that has caused some private wells to run dry because the well driller did not dig deep like he was supposed to. Now farmers are saying there is a federal law that prohibits a processor from paying less then break-even costs in producing a product. So will see what happens...Oh, and to add to this mix are the imports from China where the processors are paying less then American produced fish.

**sigh**

Ya'll have any problems?

ginnyrose