July 18, 2011

Soy prices in China were mixed in the week to Friday (Jul 15), with domestic soy stable and imported soy rising slightly, in line with the recent trend at the Chicago Board of Trade.

The average price in the top producing province of Heilongjiang, which accounts for about 40% of the country's output, was flat at RMB3,820-3,860 (US$591-597)/tonne. Import prices at major ports were about RMB4,100 (US$634)/tonne, up RMB150 (US$23) from a week earlier.

CBOT soy rose about 7% in July, after the USDA released a bullish acreage report at the end of June, bolstering Chinese traders' confidence.

Port soy inventories stand at a record seven million tonnes, and will likely rise with the arrivals of new cargoes, weighing on prices, the state-backed China National Grain & Oils Information Centre (CNGOIC) said Friday in its monthly report.

Meanwhile the National Development and Reform Commission said soy area this year will likely fall 11% from last year to 7.6 million hectares.

In the marketing year that begins October 1, China's soy imports will reach 57 million tonnes compared with 53 million tonnes forecast for 2010-11, the CNGOIC report showed. The USDA forecast China's 2011-12 soy imports at 56.5 million tonnes.