June 12, 2008

China soy imports skyrocket by 45 percent in May

China's soy imports in May totaled 3.48 million tonnes, rising by 45 percent from April and 18 percent on-year, driven by record domestic soy oil prices and anticipation for higher soymeal demand from pig breeders.

Soy imports in the first five months by China came to 13.65 million tonnes, a rise of 20.4 percent on-year, official Customs figures indicated Wednesday (June 11, 2008).

The report also stated that average import price for soy in the first five months was US$580.3 a tonne, up 77.9 percent on-year.

Imports will remain strong in June and July reaching around 3 million tonnes as buyers had booked many cheap South American soy earlier, said Zhang Liwei, an analyst with the China National Grain and Oils Information Centre (CNGOIC).

Analysts said that the strong imports will continue to pressure domestic prices of soy oil, which plummeted by more than 30 percent since March.

China imported 660,000 tonnes of edible oils in May, a fall of 27.5 percent from April.

However, total edible oil imports in the first five months rose 11 percent to 3.22 million tonnes, according to Customs.

China is the world's largest consumer of edible oils, mainly consuming soy oil and palm oil.