May 13, 2009
China's May soy imports to reach 3.66 million tonnes
China expects its soy imports in May to reach 3.66 million tonnes, the latest estimate released by China's commerce ministry on Tuesday (May 12).
The figure was lower than traders' estimation of between four to five million tonnes. The ministry's estimate was in line with actual arrivals for April, which rose 55.2 percent year-on-year to 3.71 million tonnes. The Chinese government's stockpiling of domestic soy had led crushers to switch to cheaper imports.
The ministry added that buyers in China have loaded 2.7 million tonnes of soy due to arrive in China in May, down from April's 2.86 million tonnes.
Traders also expected China's imports to slow down from July onwards and some shipments could be delayed because of large arrivals and poor crushing margins.
