China is recalibrating its farmer subsidies to give soybean plantings an economic edge over corn in four of the country’s northern provinces. The move, which will affect the provinces of Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia to the north of Beijing, targets regions where corn and soybeans already compete and is part of a multi-faceted programme to beef up China’s agriculture sector. While the statement does not comment on the size of the subsidy, it said the soybean subsidy is higher than that of corn, and encourages provinces to concentrate subsidies on advantageous production areas. China has set out a long-term intention of cutting its substantial corn stocks, which may have topped 300 million mt in mid-2017