October 14, 2010

China soy imports surpass 50 million tonnes

China's total soy imports in 2009-10 (October-September) marketing year has exceeded 50 million tonnes, a record volume or a rise of 22% from the previous year following an ongoing expansion of the crushing industry.

According to official Customs figures showed on Wednesday (Oct 13), China imported 4.63 million tonnes of the oilseed in September, down 2.7% from August, but a rise of 68.5% from a year-ago period. China imported 40.16 million tonnes of soy in the first nine months, up 24.1% on year.

Chinese buyers are actively seeking soy cargoes out to March and May shipment next year as rising prices of soy products offer better crushing margins, at about RMB242 (US$36.26) per tonne, said the China National Grain and Oils Information Centre (CNGOIC).

"Crushing margins for China's soy plants have increased as the appreciation of the yuan has offered a comparative low cost for imports, in addition to a rise of domestic soymeal prices and better demand from the livestock breeding industry," CNGOIC said.

The official think-tank also expected soy imports in November to pick up to between 4.7-4.8 million tonnes, but October imports would decline to as low as 3.8 million tonnes as buyers switch from South American supplies to those from the US.

China's strong appetite for soy had helped push up the CBOT, which rose for the fourth straight session or 11% since October 6 fuelled also by a cut of US soy crop by the USDA.

Customs figures also showed imports of vegetable oils in September were 640,000 tonnes, up 20.8% from the previous month as Chinese buyers have increased imports of soyoil.

China's own soy harvest this year may fall 1.3% to 14.8 million tonnes as farmers shifted to grow more corn instead, CNGOIC estimates.