Embrapa Cerrados e a Korea Agro-Trade Center São Paulo, a South Korean company, signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a partnership between the companies. The Korean company's objective is to seek in Brazil non-transgenic soybean cultivars with good performance for the manufacture of food products, widely consumed in Asia. The main product is tofu, a vegetal cheese made of soy milk, and other products are miso, a fermented paste, and soy-based drinks. “At this first moment, we sent five soybean cultivars developed by Embrapa Cerrados to be tested in South Korea. They are rich in protein, which is important for these food industries. Based on food processing tests, we can improve these materials until we obtain a cultivar that meets this demand”, Sebastião Pedro, head of Embrapa Cerrados, explains. He complements: “This partnership aims to identify conventional soy cultivars with Embrapa genetics, developed to Cerrado cultivation, that meet consumption patterns of the South Korean population”. The partnership also shares information on characteristics that meet the South Korean market. Afterwards, the production chain to enable the supply of these grains to the South Korean market we will be organized. “Testing our materials in these markets is the first step towards this attempt”, he says. Young Jung, director of Korea Agro-Trade Center São Paulo, says that, in her country, soy is the second most important food crop, being rice the first. Over 80% of the soy they consume comes from the United States. Currently, South Korea imports 180 thousand tons of conventional soy, being 60% used for tofu production. Jung´s company operates in several countries around the world, exporting food to South Korea. The goal of this partnership is to diversify soy suppliers for tofu production, to guarantee food security in the country. The agreement is supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Brazil. Upon learning of the composition of the materials selected by Embrapa Cerrados, which contain 42% protein, the Embassy's commercial attaché, Kong Sung Ho, demonstrated great satisfaction with the good protein content, especially for tofu production. Sung Ho points out: “With the establishment of this agreement, we hope to continue deepening relations between the two countries, both in the public and private sectors, especially in agriculture.” Despite that, Sebastião Pedro, who is also a researcher on soybean breeding, explains that the protein content can vary depending on where the soy is produced and on weather conditions. He highlights that South Korea is an important client for Brazil. “This approach, through the memorandum of understanding, will allow us to learn the real need regarding the type of soy that the country needs and we will respond as we understand this need”, he guarantees. Special niche market Sebastião Pedro remembers that, at the beginning of soy production in the Cerrado biome, the objective was to produce ordinary soybeans, to manufacture bran for oil and animal feed. “Brazil is a food production leader worldwide, and the Cerrado biome, at present, is responsible for 60% of the country’s agricultural production. Research is now seeking to strengthen soybean production for human consumption, with high quality protein and oil,” he informs. On most agricultural properties, soybeans are a commodity, traded by weight rather than quality, whereas soy for human consumption is a niche market. As they are conventional cultivars, they need to be produced in areas separate from transgenic crops, to avoid contamination. After harvesting, the grains need to be stored and transported separately. “The logistics of conventional soy is very laborious. Care begins with the seed, which must be pure, not contaminated. Within the non-transgenic soy market, special soy for tofu production is even a more specific niche: the grain has to be produced to meet this destination, whose clients are Asian countries, Japan and Korea, for instance, which are willing to pay the additional cost for this differentiated logistics”, he details. Jung also warns that, as they are conventional soybeans, Embrapa materials will undergo safety inspections to determine whether the samples do not contain transgenic grains, and only then they will proceed to processing tests. Sebastião Pedro reinforces that, as it is a special niche market, it is important to monitor the chain, ensuring that good agricultural practices are applied, aiming for sustainable production and safety for human consumption: “First, we will identify a soybean that is ideal for the South Korean market and then we will produce soybeans in Brazil with certificate of origin to guarantee the quality of our product.”