June 26, 2007

Value of soybeans imported by China's Fujian province jumps 19.1 percent on-year

According to the Fuzhou office of the Customs General Administration of China, the value of soybeans imported by Fujian province during January-May 2007 had increased by 19.1 percent on-year to US$202 million. Average import prices were up 20 percent to US$318/tonnes.

A breakdown of the custom data showed that Fujian imported US$155 million worth of soybean from US during the first five months of 2007, up 63.3 percent on-year.  The province also imported US$26 million and US$21 million worth of soybeans from Argentina and Brazil, down 49.8 percent and 7.3 percent respectively.

Traders in Fuzhou mentioned that China's soy crush capacity is already nearing 27 million tonnes. As locally-produced soybeans were not adequate in satisfying the rising soy crush demand, production needs has to be met by imported beans.

RMB1=US$0.1312 (Jun 26)