February 15, 2011

China's January soy imports reach 5.14 million tonnes

China, the world's largest soy buyer, imported 5.14 million tonnes of soy in January, up 26% from the same period last year, figures from the General Administration of Customs issued on Monday (Feb 14) showed.

The volume was higher than the Ministry of Commerce's latest forecast of 4.79 million tonnes, but down 5.3% from imports of 5.43 million tonnes in December.

Traders expect soy imports to continue dwindling on a monthly basis from February because of poor crushing margins attributed to recent government control over soyoil prices and low seasonal demand for soymeal.

Traders said earlier poor margins had prompted them to cancel or delay some US imported cargoes for March and April shipments.

February soy imports were forecast at 2.73 million tonnes by the commerce ministry, although it is likely to revise the number later.

The ministry's estimate was slightly lower than estimates by the China National Grain and Oils Information Centre (CNGOIC) of between 2.8-3 million tonnes for February.

In January, the country also imported 610,000 tonnes of edible vegetable oil valued at US$651 million, up 21.9% from December 2010.

The centre also expected March imports to stay low or at about three million tonnes, with imports for months from March to May set to be lower than year-ago period after rising CBOT soy prices soured crushing margins for soy plants.