June 26, 2008

China's soy buyers to report import volume on calls for transparent trade

China's soy buyers are to report exact details of their cargoes to the government from August 1 on earlier calls for a more transparent trade environment, the Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday (June 25, 2008).

The move, aside from promoting transparency, will also prevent price volatility, analysts said.

The ministry said trading firms importing soy, soymeal, soy oil and also palm oil, rapeseed and rapeseed oils are required to report under the following conditions within three days -- signing contracts, shipping from the original ports, arriving at local ports, as well as any changes of reported items.

The information on the volume of imports, estimated time of arrivals, cargo numbers and origins will be posted twice a month on the ministry's website.

The government reiterated that the measures will maintain international trade order, protect firms' interests and provide information for imports of agricultural commodities.

Commodity consultancy Shanghai JCI welcomed the announcement, saying that market participants have been calling for that for a while now.

Particularly in soy imports, crushers feel they do not have enough information regarding the actual arrivals of cargoes, which often leads to financial losses, JCI said.