China's February soy imports to be lower than market expectations

China is expected to receive soy imports of less than 3.5 million tonnes in February, lower than earlier market expectations of four million tonnes.

Imports may go down further after the Spring Festival (February 13-18) as the booming demand cools down, according to some industry insiders.

The China National Grain and Oils Information Centre, a state-supported think-tank, previously predicted that the soy imports would likely exceed 12 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2010, with imports in January, February and March respectively at 4.2 million tonnes, 4.2 million tonnes, and 3.8 million tonnes.

The country imported 3.26 million tonnes of soy in February last year.

Currently, soy purchases have progressed slowly in north-eastern areas, China's largest soy production base, and soy imports received in the areas have been less than 300,000 tonnes in February.

Meanwhile, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and southern China are constantly increasing their soy imports. They are expected to import almost three million tonnes this month.

Industry insiders note that as soy-crushing mills at ports are developing into large-scale operations, coastal areas such as Jiangsu and Zhejiang and southern China have abandoned soy purchases from north-eastern areas and have turned to imports.