The effects of economic growth and policy intervention in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea upon the import demand for soybeans

Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea are the most important and dynamic growth markets for U.S. soybeans in East Asia. The general objective of this study is to develop a quantitative description of the soybean markets in these three economies and to evaluate the impacts of economic growth and policy intervention upon their import demand for soybeans;The study provides important information about these soybean markets, including the general economic and agricultural situations, the supply and demand conditions of soybeans and soybean products, and the trade and agricultural policies affecting these soybean markets. In addition, regional models integrating domestic supply and demand for soybeans, soymeal, soyoil, and the livestock sector are developed and estimated through seemingly unrelated regressions (or joint generalized least squares);Based on the established models, the impacts of economic growth and policy changes upon these soybean markets are evaluated by performing dynamic simulation analyses. Furthermore, the future soybean import demand and some key variables are projected. Finally, inferences regarding the findings are drawn.