Focus on food use could increase soybean sales to Japan - includes related article on history of food use of soybeans

Focus on Food Use Could Increase Soybean Sales to Japan

Japan is the world's largest market for soybeans, importing around 4.68 million metric tons in 1990. While most soybeans are crushed for meal and oil or processed into soy protein and soy sauce, there is another usage - direct food use - that offers potential for growing U.S. sales.

While the volume of soybean imports for crushing to make meal and oil has stayed relatively unchanged over the past several years, soybean imports for human consumption have increased steadily from 827,000 metric tons in 1980 to 1.2 million tons in 1990, an increase of 45 percent. No other country imports such a large quantity of soybeans for food use.

With its competitive advantage, the future looks bright for the United States to supply Japan with high-quality food-use soybeans in the years to come. The U.S. share of the food-use soybean market is around 75 percent, with exports to Japan increasing 17 percent since 1985.

Domestic Production Limited

Despite government programs designed to increase domestic production, soybean area planted in Japan has declined in recent years because growers are interested in more lucrative crops such as vegetables and flowers. As a result, Japan has had to import soybeans in order to meet the demand.

About three-fourths of Japan's soybean imports, or around $900 million worth, come from the United States, translating into an important and steady market for U.S. soybean growers. Also, there are no tariffs or duties to hinder imports of soybeans, making the market even more attractive.

Food Uses of Soybeans

With most Japanese eating a soybean product at least once a day, it is little wonder that Japan is the world's largest buyer of food-quality soybeans, which are used for a variety of Japanese foods.

Tofu is by far the most popular food in Japan made from soybeans. It is a cheese-like product made from soybean milk (soymilk). Soymilk is produced by grinding soybeans that have been soaked in water. A coagulant is added to the soymilk to obtain a soft curd, which is the tofu. Tofu is consumed fresh, frozen or dried in hundreds of variations. There are approximately 24,000 tofu shops throughout the country.

Miso and natto are two other popular food products in Japan made from soybeans. Miso is a whitish-brown paste made from soaked, steam-heated soybeans that are inoculated with cultures of microorganisms grown on rice or barley and then allowed to ferment. Miso can be used as a soup base or as a seasoning for meat, vegetables or tofu.

Natto is prepared by steaming soaked soybeans until they are soft, inoculating the warm bean with bacteria and allowing it to ferment for up to 24 hours in a humid environment. Generally served as a topping for rice, natto also is used in miso soup. Until recently, natto was consumed mainly in the eastern half of Japan but it is also becoming popular in the western half of the country.

In 1989, 42 percent of soybeans for food use went into tofu, 14 percent went into miso, 8 percent went into natto and 36 percent into other soybean products. The demand for soybeans used for direct consumption is increasing approximately 3 percent per year for tofu and miso and about 7 percent for natto.

Products made from soybeans are marketed as health foods in Japan, and this has resulted in an increase in soybean imports for human consumption. Tofu, for example, contains almost no saturated fats and a low ratio of calories to protein. Soymilk beverages also are popular.

Marketing Food-Use Soybeans

The market for food-use soybeans is evolving from the use of ordinary crushing soybeans to food-use variety soybeans because the Japanese food industry is searching for better quality soybeans than were used in the past. The majority of the soybeans imported for direct consumption have been No. 2 soybeans, which in general are used for crushing. Less than 5 percent of soybeans imported into Japan for food use were grown and exported specifically for food use.

Food-Use Beans - Key to Sales

Food-use soybeans hold the key to substantial growth in sales of value-added soybeans. Food-quality soybeans command a premium price. According to the American Soybean Association (ASA), the varietal soybeans in demand in Japan have an estimated farm gate value in the United States of $1-3 per bushel above crushing bean prices. This could represent added returns to U.S. soybean producers of up to $55 million per year.

Demand for food-use soybeans from the United States would probably increase if Japanese end-users were more aware that there are many different food-use varieties of soybeans grown in the United States.

The ASA is attempting to replace the No. 2 soybean with value-added soybeans from the United States. The Association has been active in promoting food-use soybeans from the United States, conducting an annual promotion campaign with Japan's Tofu Association and its 15,000 tofu shop members around the country. The ASA's work with the Tofu Association for the past 11 years has helped increase imports of food-quality soybeans for tofu by about 19 percent, or 196,000 tons.

The ASA also initiated a Variety Food Bean Technical Service activity in 1989, which organizes Japanese soybean teams' tours of the United States. Efforts such as these could increase value-added soybean exports from the United States to the Japanese market.

The author is with the Oilseeds and Products Division, FAS. Tel. (202) 720-0141.

PHOTO : Food-Use Soybeans Account for Growth in Japan's Imports

COPYRIGHT 1991 U.S. Department of Agriculture
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group