January 11, 2012

China's soy imports fell 3.9% in 2011 to 52.64 million tonnes, marking the first decline since 2004, data from the General Administration of Customs showed Tuesday (Jan 10).

The government's massive sales of oilseeds and edible oils from reserves last year, part of efforts to control inflation, damped demand for imported soy, analysts said.

In 2011, the government sold 1.52 million tonnes of edible oils from reserves, the state-backed China National Grain & Oils Information Centre said. This accounts for around 6% of China's annual consumption. China imported 6.57 million tonnes of edible oils, down 4.4% on-year, Tuesday's data showed.

Beijing also sold around three million tonnes of soy from reserves to major crushers last year in exchange for their agreement to keep edible oil prices stable, analysts said.

In December, soy imports reached 5.42 million tonnes, steady with 5.43 million tonnes a year a go, the customs data showed.

China is the world's biggest soy importer, accounting for about 60% of the global trade.