October 14, 2010

China lifts October soy import forecast

China's commerce ministry has revised upwards its estimate for October soy imports to 4.15 million tonnes from an earlier forecast of 3.32 million.

If realised, the new estimate would be a fall of 10.6% from September shipments of 4.64 million tonnes, based on customs data released Wednesday (Oct 13).

But the projected October volume would be a 65% rise from a year earlier, consistent with the country's massive levels of soy imports this year.

The soy imports in September and October this year are higher compared with 2.7 million tonnes in September and 2.5 million tonnes in October last year.

Expansion of crushing capacity coupled with lower soyoil imports has spurred purchases of the oilseed, analysts said.

The estimate is based on reports from importers during the September 16-30 period. The regular forecast, published twice per month, is usually lower than the actual import figure as it fails to catch all shipments but provide a reference for buyers to gauge supply.