February 13, 2004

China's Soybean Imports Up 53.1% In January

China's soybean imports in January were 53.1% higher versus January 2003, according to official Xinhua News Agency, citing the data from China's General Administration of Customs.

The report didn't give specific figures of soybean imports during January 2004, just a percentage increase. In January 2003, China's soybean imports were pegged at 1,292,590 metric tons, according to official customs data.

Thus, January's soybean imports are calculated to be around 1.98 million tons.

The official customs data is usually released on the 20th day of each month, but government agencies or state-owned media could get the data at an earlier date.

China imported 20,741,107 tons of soybeans during the 2003 calendar year, 83% higher than the import in the previous calendar year, official customs data shows.