October 3, 2005

China imports Indian soy
 

China, the world's top soy importer, has ordered low-priced soymeal from India due to expected limited soybean imports shipments to China in October.

Traders said on Sep 30 that China had bought at least four cargoes-each filled with 10,000-12,000 tonnes of soymeal-at C&F prices US$232-$250/tonne.

The deals came as a surprise as Chinese crushers had been struggling with large soybean imports, which has pulled down local soymeal prices and squeezed profit margins.

However, Indian soymeal prices had dropped sharply due to lack of buyers, which made the deals attractive for some in southern China, traders added.

The traders also revealed that Chinese buyers are hoping that soymeal prices would remain stable after Oct 1, due to smaller expected shipments from hurricane-hit US. Imports are expected at below 2 million tonnes this month.