Large soy imports delay unloading at Chinese ports

Massive soy cargoes arriving in China since late May has swamped ports and filled their storage to capacity, delaying unloading for new cargoes, traders said on Friday (June 4).

Traders in Shandong said two to three soy cargoes bought by a local trading house, Shandong Sunrise Group Co. Ltd, were unable to berth because the company had filled its storage capacity.

"Sunrise has overbooked. It booked more than 20 cargoes this year. A large quantity of soy was stockpiled at ports and could not be sold," said a local crusher official in Rizhao.

The China National Grain and Oils Information Centre said storage facilities at ports in Shandong were almost full, leaving new cargoes unable to unload. More than 1.3 million tonnes of soy would arrive at ports in Shandong, it said.

A local trading manager said local crushers also faced storage problems because of large imports. "Plants have also imported too much and are asking for storage space from us," said the trading manager, adding that some stocks may have to be stored in the open air.

Of total imports in June, about 13 cargoes were expected to arrive at Dalian and 10 cargoes to arrive Rizhao, while nine cargoes were expected for Qingdao, according to analysts.

Ports in Dalian and Nantong were also packed with a large number of soy cargoes, said Gao.