February 11, 2004

 

 

China's 2003 Soybean Imports Up 83%

 

China's soybean imports saw a huge leap in 2003, up 83.3% from the previous year. A total of 20.74 million tons of soybeans was purchased from world markets with import figures surpassing that of local production for the first time.

 

China, once a major exporter of soybeans, produced only 16.2 million tons in 2003.

 

Natural disasters like droughts affected the nation's soybean production.

 

The nation spent US$5.4 billion, a 118.2 per cent increase, for the imports, mainly from the United States, Brazil and Argentina, according to the General Administration of Customs.

 

The imports supplied about 66 per cent of China's demand for soybeans.

 

In the early 1990s, China remained a net exporter of soybeans, with exports reaching one million tons per year.

 

But China's domestic need expanded sharply, especially in the late 1990s. According to the customs figures, China imported 4.32 million tons of soybean in 1999, 10.45 million tons in 2000 and 13.76 million tons in 2001.

 

To balance the domestic demand and supply, the Chinese national reserve auctioned 500,000 tons of soybeans in bid as a pilot project last July.

 

A group of Chinese purchasers inked contracts with US producers last December to buy US$1.4 billion-worth soybean.

 

Trade experts predicted an increase in global soybean production this year, but also a higher growth in consumption. China's import of soybean, with an import duty of 3 per cent, is expected to keep expanding in 2004.