April 13, 2011

China unlikely to raise oilseed output in near term

China is unlikely to increase domestic oilseed production in the short term, said a senior official at a consultancy under the State Administration of Grain Tuesday (Apr 12).

"Soy crushers are making losses of RMB300-500 (US$46-$76)/tonne now and soy stocks at crushers are at record highs," said Cao Zhi, director of the marketing forecast department at the China National Grain & Oil Information Centre.

Cao said high soy stocks will have a negative impact on imports in the next one to two months, and that China's soy imports in the marketing year ending September 30 will be less than 54 million tonnes, compared with a USDA forecast of 57 million tonnes.