February 16, 2004

China Receives 8 Cargoes Of Imported Soybeans

China received eight cargoes of imported soybean during the period 1-10 February. This figure is sharply lower than the arrivals a month a go, a trader who tracked the shipments said Friday.

"Eight cargoes or less than 500,000 metric tons of imported soybeans arrived between Feb. 1 and 10, fewer than the arrivals of January, as crushers delayed shipment due to poor crushing margin at home," said a trader from a Hong Kong-based oilseeds company said Friday.

By comparison, China received 20 to 21 soybean cargoes in the same period last month.

In the rest of February, China is expected to receive another 14 cargoes of imported soybeans, the trader said.

In January, China imported 1.98 million tons of soybeans 53.1% higher than the same month of 2003, according to the official Xinhua News Agency, citing data from China General Administration of Customs. In the 2003 calendar year, China imported 20.74 million tons of soybeans, 83% higher than the import in 2002, according to the official customs figures.