Russia offers 2.5 million acres of land to Chinese farmers, but will it ease Beijing’s soybean shortage?
A deal with Moscow could help China feed its voracious appetite for soybeans, but analysts are sceptical about the quality of the plots on offer
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 region in recent years, observers are sceptical about the quality of the land being offered to foreign operators.