This page provides an overview of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) risks related to soy grown in China.
China is the world's fourth-largest producer of soybeans with a total area of production of 6.59 million hectares (2015/2016, data from the Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture). 40% of the crop is produced in Heilongjiang province, in the far north-east of the country.
China has a complete land use planning system at all levels of government – national, provincial, prefectural, county and township. Land in rural and suburban areas is mainly owned by collectives, except for those areas designated by law to the state. There is a small percentage of soy production that is managed by state-owned farms which tend to be larger operations than the individual farm collectives. Organic soy in China is either produced by large state-owned farms or private commercial entities that rent land from farm collectives.
At present the Chinese agricultural sector faces major environmental challenges. Applications of fertilisers and pesticides are among the highest in the world. Soil erosion, soil pollution and loss of agricultural biodiversity are widespread. Water scarcity affects many parts of the country, as shown by plummeting water tables in northern China.
There are CSR risks in Chinese soy supply chains. The risks relate to business, social and environmental areas for soy from farm collectives or state-owned farms. If you are sourcing soy from China, you should take care to ensure the risks identified are not present in your supply chains, or have been sufficiently mitigated.
Score: 39 / 100 in 2018
Rank: 87 out of 180 countries in 2018
Genetically modified soy is prohibited in China.
There is an unchanging conflict status in China because of territorial disputes in the sea and secretarian conflict, according to the Council on Foreign Relations' Global Conflict Tracker.
According to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program there were 11 deaths from 2010-2017.
Soy from China can be certified 1) by Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) via GLOBALGAP; or 2) as organic. Certification is coordinated by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China (CNCA).
Information Gathering
Gather information on your supply chain
- Find out the different sources of soy
- Determine which source type your soy comes from
- Find out the main documents that can be used to indicate legality throughout the supply chain
Sources of soy
Soy source types | Description of source type |
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Farm collectives |
Soy from farm collectives. All land in China is owned by the government. Farm households are given use rights via collective leases by the village authorities, enabling them to cultivate specific parcels of land. The average farm size is 0.6 hectares. |
State-owned farms |
Soy from large state-owned and state-managed farms. There are a few of these in Heilongjing province. |
Organic farms | Organic soy from commercially-run organisations (state-owned or privately-owned) that lease the land from farm collectives. Farms must obtain an organic agri-product certification recognised by the government. |
Documents to indicate legality
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Farm level
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Processing, trade and transport
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Export and customs
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Risk Assessment
Assess the risks in your supply chain
- Find out the main environmental, social and legality risks
- Download the full risk assessment to see more detail
Main environmental, social and legality risks
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Business issues For farm collectives there is a risk of:
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Conversion No specified risks identified. See full risk assessment for details. |
Social issues For farm collectives and state-owned farms, there is a risk that:
For all source types, there is a risk that:
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Environmental issues
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GMO No specified risks identified. See full risk assessment for details. |
Risk Mitigation
Mitigate the risks in your supply chain
Learn which actions we recommended to mitigate the risks associated with the soy sources from China
Mitigation recommendations
We have two tools to help you mitigate risks for Chinese soy supply chains:
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The Supplier Evaluation Checklist for soy from China will help you identify and specify the risks in your supply chain.
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The Risk Mitigation Guide gives you a detailed overview of risks in China, and how to mitigate them.
The tools above give you the most information. Below is a summary of our recommended actions to mitigate the risks associated with the three soy source types from China.
A. If you are buying soy from organic soy farms
1. Fully map your supply chain
- Our supply chain mapping tool can help you do this.
2. Obtain and verify documents
- Ensure the company has a policy and compliance system (a way of ensuring the policy is implemented) that covers the ILO Core Labour conventions. The policy should explicitly prohibit child labour and set a minimum age for employment consistent with the law.
- Ensure that the organic certificate and product label are valid and active as there have been many cases of fraudulent organic government labels. You can verify the certification information and organic product code through http://food.cnca.cn (please note the site is in Chinese only).
3. Consult stakeholders
- Staff/workers (consulted during harvesting season) confirm that they are aware of the policy and compliance system covers the ILO Core Labour conventions, and that the policies are followed in the field.
4. Carry out on-site verification
- Confirm that the farm's policies and compliance systemcover the ILO Core labour conventions and are followed in the field.
B. If you are buying soy from state-owned farms:
1. Fully map your supply chain
- Our supply chain mapping tool can help you do this.
2. Obtain and verify documents
- Ensure the company has a policy and compliance system (a way of ensuring the policy is implemented) that covers the ILO Core Labour conventions. The policy should explicitly prohibit child labour and set a minimum age for employment consistent with the law.
- Rural Environmental Registry, approved by the relevant competent authority.
- Documentary evidence that the land was not prepared by burning.
- Map of the production area. Verify that the material:
- Does not originate from mapped watersheds that are supplying local communities with drinking water, OR
- Is sourced from areas where best practices of farm management are applied, including water course buffers, equipment restrictions, road building, protection against contamination, pesticides use.
3. Consult stakeholders
- Staff/workers (consulted during harvesting season) confirm that they are aware of the policy and compliance system covers the ILO Core Labour conventions, and that the policies are followed in the field.
- Local farm cooperatives confirm a lack of environmental issues on the farm
- Local authorities and/or local stakeholders confirm that the land was not prepared by burning.
4. Carry out on-site verification
- Confirm that the policy and compliance systems that cover the ILO Core Labour conventions are followed in the field by inspecting farming cooperative sites.
- Confirm, during harvesting season, that health and safety procedures and training are implemented.
C. If you are buying soy from farm collectives:
1. Fully map your supply chain
- Our supply chain mapping tool can help you do this.
2. Obtain and verify documents
- Land contracts [State-Owned Land-Use Rights (Supplementary Grant Contract for Allocated Land-Use Rights) & Grant Contract for State-Owned Land-Use Rights (Grant Contract for a Parcel of Land)], issued by the provincial or municipal (county or township) government. Must be registered at the relevant authority: either the province, county/municipal or township level.
- Health and Safety procedures document
- Training Records for safe operation
- Evidence of Accident Insurance to cover all workers
- Work permit for special occupations
- Accident records and related administration procedures and measures
- Policy and compliance system (a way of ensuring the policy is implemented), that covers the ILO Core Labour conventions, e.g. the policy explicitly prohibits child labour and sets the minimum age for employment consistent with the law.
- Documentation of pay and conditions, cross check with the legal requirements.
- Evidence of Rural Environmental Registry approved by the relevant competent authority
- Evidence that no land preparation was conducted by burning.
- Map of the production area. Verify that the material:
- Does not originate from mapped watersheds that are supplying local communities with drinking water, OR
- Is sourced from areas where best practices of farm management are applied, including water course buffers, equipment restrictions, road building, protection against contamination, pesticides use.
3. Consult stakeholders
- Staff/workers (consulted during harvesting season) confirm that they are aware of the policy and compliance system covers the ILO Core Labour conventions, and that the policies are followed in the field.
- Staff/workers, interviewed during harvesting season, confirm that staff are aware of health and safety procedures and have participated in training.
- Relevant staff/workers, interviewed during harvesting season, confirm that they have attended specific training, have secured the relevant qualification certificate for the work and have access to safety equipment.
- Staff/workers, interviewed during harvesting season, confirm their pay and conditions matches the documented pay and conditions.
- Local farm cooperatives confirm a lack of environmental issues on the farm
- Local authorities and/or local stakeholders confirm that the land was not prepared by burning.
4. Carry out on-site verification
- Confirm that the policy and compliance systems that cover the ILO Core Labour conventions are followed in the field by inspecting farming cooperative sites.
- Confirm, during harvesting season, that health and safety procedures and training are implemented.