July 16, 2020

China's June soybean imports jump 71% on-year

Soybean imports of China hit a record high in June, jumping 71% on-year, according to customs data on Tuesday, as a flurry of cargoes arrived from top supplier Brazil, Reuters reported.

China, the world's top importer of the oilseed, shipped in 11.16 million tonnes in June from 6.51 million a year ago and up 19% from 9.38 million tonnes in May, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

Exports from Brazil have picked up since March after weather improved in the South American country.

"The main reason is that Brazilian beans were cheap, and crush margins for June were really good, so crushers booked a lot of shipments," said Xie Huilan, analyst with agriculture consultancy Cofeed.

"Crushers signed many contracts with end users and presold a lot of meal, to lock in profits," Xie added.

Chinese soybean crushers, who earlier this year had to curb operations due to short supplies, are now struggling with bulging inventories.

"It is quite difficult," a manager with a crusher based in southern China told Reuters. "I am pushing the end users to come get their meal every day ... I now just hope that shipping in Brazil can slow down a little," said the manager, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to talk to media.

However, imports this month are likely to remain above normal levels, exceeding nine million tonnes, according to traders and analysts.

"July imports are expected to reach 10 million tonnes as well, with most cargoes from Brazil," said Monica Tu, analyst with agriculture consultancy Shanghai JC Intelligence Co Ltd.

"August figures should come down," Tu said.