KANSAS (KSNT) – Kansas farmers have been hit hard by the lack of Chinese demand, but now they’re beginning to look elsewhere for international demand.China was the largest buyer of soybeans in the world, typically buying as much as half of the U.S.’s exports every year. But since the beginning of the Trump administration, China has not purchased any new-crop soybeans, which has devastated the market and farmers across the U.S.Kansas harvest season slowed by abnormally wet conditionsAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementReacting to the lack of Chinese demand, a group of soybean farmers and staff from 12 Midwest states, including Kansas, visited South Korea and Japan in September to build on the longstanding relationships between U.S. agriculture and the two nations. Kaleb Little, a Commission Administrator and Kansas Soybean Association CEO, was one of the representatives from Kansas.While there, we had meetings all along the supply chain, including: USDA Foreign Ag Service in both countries; Incheon Port in Seoul, which handles more than 3.5 million containers a year, shipping soy products in and out; one of the fourteen CJ Cheiljedang crush plants in Korea, which process US soybeans; Bookook Feed, who turns that soybean meal into value-added animal feed (90% of their ingredients are sourced internationally); Fuji Oil in Japan, a producer of cooking oils, as well as powdered and textured soy protein as an ingredient for food companies; and multiple other buyers, users, and end customers of US soybean growers.Kaleb Little wrote in a press release from October 2025Kansas startup using wheat to power the future of medicineJapan and South Korea have a combined 170 million people who rely on the rest of the world for more than half of their food and ingredients. In both countries, soybean is a very popular protein source, being used in dozens of different recipes.In Japan, soybean is used foods and ingredients like soy sauce, miso, tofu, edamame and more. While in South Korea, soybeans are mostly used for doenjang(a Korean soybean paste), koji, natto, curds and other pastes.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAlthough Kansas farmers are struggling with low commodity prices, high input costs and other challenges with this year’s harvest, market development work is the top priority for groups like the Kansas Soybean Commission. And if the Chinese market continues to avoid buying U.S, soybean, then our farmers may soon have more demand elsewhere.For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News.