October 14, 2008

China soy imports hit record of 4.1 million tonnes in Sept

China imported 28.7 million tonnes of soy in the first nine months of the year, 32.3 percent up from the same period of 2007 and a record monthly high of 4.1 million tonnes in September.

The September import figure may have benefited from some August shipments being delayed as demand weakened.

China's Commerce Ministry had expected soy imports for September of 2.86 million tonnes, 25 percent lower than August's record 3.83 million tonnes, with crushers expected to reduce imports amid sluggish soyoil prices.

Soy prices on the CBOT and China's Dalian exchange have fallen in recent weeks as the global financial crisis has spread to commodity markets.

Analysts say they expect Chinese demand to remain robust and prices to recover, with imports lifted by a massive decline in freight prices, which is partly a result of slowing demand for bulk commodities such as grains and iron ore.