December 22, 2010

China's soy imports to slow in December

China's soy imports are slowing in December following a surge in recent months but its 2010 purchases are still likely to reach a record, Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World said Tuesday (Dec 21).

"Following record shipments from the US, Argentina and Brazil to China in September/November 2010, considerably less is expected for December," Oil World said. "This is already reflected in the latest weekly US soy exports to China."

"Chinese soy buying activity has slowed significantly and some buyers are trying to delay shipments of US soy due to the current large stocks in Chinese ports," it said. "There were also rumours of cancellations of some soy contracts."

It estimates Chinese soy imports in October/December 2010 at 14.5 million tonnes, which would still be 4.3 million tonnes above the same period in 2009.

This would bring China's 2010 calendar year soy imports to a record 54.65 million tonnes, up from 42.55 million tonnes in 2009.

"Only part of this was processed, resulting in a significant increase in Chinese stocks of imported soy," it said. "This in turn is now resulting in a slowdown of shipments from the main origins."