• Ethiopia, East Africa’s top soybean exporter, is able to export soybean meal to China since July 3, 2025.

• China's new regulation serves to diversify soy supply sources; Ethiopia shipped 29,408 tons of soybeans to China in 2024, earning nearly $18 million from the sales. 

Ethiopia, the principal soybean exporter in East Africa, has been seeking new outlets globally.

Since July 3, 2025, the country can export soybean meal - a byproduct of soybean oil extraction - to China, as announced by the General Administration of Customs in China.

According to Shanghai-based agricultural consulting firm JCI's analyst, Rosa Wang, who spoke to Reuters on July 7, the approval given to Addis Ababa aligns with a broader strategy to diversify supply sources. It also aims to lessen China's dependency on its main suppliers which include Brazil, Russia, Argentina, and Uruguay.

“However, the expected volumes remain modest," adds the analyst. Regardless, this announcement opens a path to fresh agricultural trade exchanges between the two nations while offering Ethiopia an opportunity to bolster its presence in China, where until now, it only exported soybeans.

Based on the data compiled by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), in the 2024/2025 marketing campaign, China should import 60,000 tons of soybean meal from the global market and maintain the same volume in the next campaign.

In 2024, Ethiopia exported 29,408 tons of soybeans to China, generating nearly $18 million, according to data compiled on the Trademap platform. This sum is expected to rise in the coming years with the addition of soybean meal exports.

This article was initially published in French by Stéphanas Assocle

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho