The acreage for soy has doubled in Germany in just a few years. The demand for the domestic product continues to grow. Because genetic modifications are prohibited in Europe.
More and more soy is being produced in Germany. Between 2016 and 2020, the area under cultivation of the plant for grain production more than doubled from 15,800 to 33,800 hectares, the Federal Statistical Office announced on Tuesday in Wiesbaden.
A further increase to 34,300 hectares is expected this year.
Soy is used for soy milk, soy oil and meat substitute products such as tofu or vegetarian grilled sausages and is also used as a source of protein in animal feed. The main growing countries in Germany are Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. More than a quarter of the soybean acreage in Germany was farmed organically in 2020.
The domestic harvest of soybeans has also more than doubled since 2016, the statisticians calculated. The demand for domestically grown soy is great, not least because genetically modified soy varieties are not allowed to be grown in Europe. Nevertheless, domestic supply is nowhere near enough to meet demand. Around 3.9 million tons of soybeans were imported in 2020, mainly from the USA and Brazil.
The cultivation and import of soy, for example for animal feed or bio-fuel, is controversial, especially from an environmental point of view, because forests are being cleared in the Amazon region in Brazil for this purpose.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
