Valuation of the quality characteristics of Japanese soybean imports

The implicit prices of the physical and intrinsic characteristics of soybeans exported by the United States are estimated. The results suggest that the US grades and standards assigned to a shipment either do not provide information valued by the market or the existence of US grades and standards has resulted in the definition of a standard of quality that is met by all exporters. Additionally, in Japan there are two identifiable soybean markets - a premium food bean market and a crushing market. The soybeans going into the food market for processing can be identified by their lower oil content, lower percentage of split and damaged beans, and a lower amount of foreign material, as well as smaller shipment sizes.