As the smallest soy food sector in Japan, soymilk consumption had been increasing year over year before the pandemic but has stabilized over the past two years due to consumers being at home and not visiting street markets or retail stores where soymilk was previously purchased. SOUTHEAST ASIA A quarter of the world's soy food consumption is in Southeast Asia, making it the world's largest soy food product market. Southeast Asia also represents the largest food-grade soybeans market, which has seen significant growth over the past several years. Since 2017, Canadian food-grade soybean exports have increased by 60 per cent. Leading this is exports to Indonesia which have grown from 0.005 million metric tonnes to 0.30 million metric tonnes in five years. Demand for soy food saw a sharp rise during the pandemic as consumers looked for healthy, easy-to-eat meals at home. While pandemic restrictions have been lifted in several parts of the region, a recent study by Nielsen showed that soy food consumption patterns are here to stay as consumers look to re-prioritize eating at home. This shift is attributed to the transformation in the delivery of soy food. While the move to digitization was occurring before the pandemic, the past two years have accelerated it even further. While in the past, consumers would purchase their soy food products at retail, several have switched to online delivery creating new demand opportunities for products. EUROPE While Asia continues to be the leader in soy food consumption, with 75 per cent of the market, western Europe is emerging as a new soy food hub. According to the Global Soy Food Market Overview report by the United States Soybean Export Council, the total western European soy food market has grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 1.4 per cent over the past five years and is now valued at $2 billion. With a sizeable portion of consumers looking to reduce their meat consumption and adopt more flexitarian diets, consumers are turning to soy food as a high-protein alternative. While soy milk leads the market in value and volume, consumption has declined due to the emergence of other plant-based beverages, such as oat and almond. Tofu and meat alternatives have been the fastest-growing segments seeing a ten per cent and seven per cent compounded annual growth rate over the past five years. WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR CANADA? As populations, income levels, and urbanization expand worldwide, demand for sustainable feed grains and protein meals from soybeans will continue to grow. With incredible growers and a world-leading value chain, Canada is well-positioned to meet this demand with sustainable sources of protein and oil for a hungry world. Nicole Mackellar is the market development manager for Soy Canada. l ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER 15 DECEMBER 2022 / JANUARY 2023 Despite volatility, global demand for soybeans is strong and continues to grow. MOST OUT OF YOURS SO YOU GET THE WE PUT THE WORK IN OUR FIELDS De Dell Seeds The Leaders in Non-GMO Corn De Dell Seeds • 7095 Century Drive • Melbourne, ON • N0L 1T0 P: 519-264-CORN (2676) • F: 519-264-2672 info@dedellseeds.com • www.dedellseeds.com Our breeding is done the traditional way, in the field, in an effort to bring you the best possible results on your farm. That is why we are The Leaders in Non-GMO Seed Corn. For more on exports to Indonesia visit us online:
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