June 14, 2004

China Jan-May Soybean Imports Down 2% On Year At 7.5 Million MT

China's soybean imports reached 7.5 million metric tons in the first five months of 2004, down 2% from the same period last year, according to a report by the official Xinhua News Agency released late last week.

Citing figures from the General Administration of Customs, Xinhua also said that during January-April this year, China's soybean imports totaled 6.6 million tons, indicating that May imports reached about 900,000 tons. This marks a decline from the 1.2 million tons imported in April.

During the first four months of the year, 90% of the soybean imports came from the U.S., while Brazil and Argentina were the second and third largest suppliers.

Xinhua usually gets trade data earlier than other news agencies.

Imports of edible oils during the January-May period jumped 79% on year to 2.7 million tons. Xinhua said.