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Business Recorder
20-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
China's June soybean imports from Brazil climb 9% from the prior year
BEIJING: China's soybean imports from Brazil in June climbed by 9.2% from a year earlier, customs data showed on Sunday, driven by a strong harvest and the ongoing Sino-U.S. trade war, while supplies from the United States rose 21%. The world's biggest soybean buyer imported 10.62 million metric tons of the oilseed from Brazil last month, or 86.6% of the total imports, compared with 9.72 million tons a year earlier, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. June arrivals from the U.S. reached 1.58 million tons, or about 12.9% of the total for the month, up from 1.31 million tons a year earlier. China's soybean imports hit the highest level ever for the month of June to 12.26 million metric tons. 'The year-on-year increase in June imports mainly reflects a lag from April caused by slow customs clearance, while the growth from January to June is driven by Brazil's bumper 2024/25 soybean harvest,' said Liu Jinlu, an agricultural researcher at Guoyuan Futures. For January-June, China's imports from Brazil totalled 31.86 million tons, down 7.5% compared with the same period last year. Total arrivals from the U.S. in the first half of the year came to 16.15 million tons, up 33% on the prior year, the data showed. China's soybean arrivals are likely to stay elevated in the third quarter, while fourth-quarter imports will hinge on the outcome of U.S.-China trade talks, traders and analysts have said. Soymeal inventories have surged amid an influx of South American beans and sluggish demand, Liu said. 'Due to the short storage window of South American soybeans, crushers have sustained high operating rates. While soybean meal production has accelerated, downstream demand has slowed, resulting in a 'just-in-time' purchasing pattern and a rapid build-up of soybean meal inventories.' China imported 111,603 tons of soybeans from Argentina inthe half of the year, down 47.5% from the same period last year, though the data showed no arrivals in June.
Reuters
13-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Outlook for record Chinese second-quarter soybean imports may ease supply tightness
Summary Brazilian harvest delays tighten China's soybean supplies Chinese processors suspend operations amid supply squeeze China's soybean imports expected to rise from April BEIJING/SINGAPORE, March 13 (Reuters) - China is poised to receive record soybean imports in the second quarter, traders and analyst said, after delayed Brazilian shipments and slow customs clearances have caused supply tightness that forced several processors to halt operations. The world's largest soybean buyer is forecast to import a record high of 31.3 million metric tons of the oilseed in the April to June period, alleviating supply pressure from smaller arrivals expected during March, according to the average of forecasts from five research and trading firms. Get a look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets with the Morning Bid U.S. newsletter. Sign up here. That is a roughly 4.6% rise from 29.91 million tons imported during the second quarter of last year, as freshly harvested beans from Brazil's bumper crop flow into China. "South America soybean prices, particularly Brazilian new crop soybean, are more attractive than their counterpart, as such Chinese crushers have purchased rather large volumes of Brazilian new crop soybeans," said Cheang Kang Wei, assistant vice president at StoneX in Singapore. China's recent supply squeeze stems from buyers avoiding U.S. beans amid concerns over a trade war with Washington, along with delays in Brazil's harvest, the world's biggest soybean producer. Beijing retaliated last week against new U.S. tariffs by increasing duties on $21 billion worth of agricultural products, including soybeans. "The soybean shortage during this period has been more widespread and severe, prompting a growing number of soybean mills across the country to halt operations," said Liu Jinlu, agricultural researcher at Guoyuan Futures. MARCH IMPORTS TO DROP March imports are expected to shrink to a five-year low of 5.27 million tons, according to StoneX. Chinese firms imported a record 105 million tons of soybeans in 2024, but high crush rates to meet livestock feed demand and stockpiling ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's January inauguration reduced inventories. According to data from consultancy Mysteel, soybean inventory at Chinese ports shrank to 4 million tons by March 7, a decrease of 600,700 tons from the previous week and down from 892,500 tons from the same period last year. "Soymeal stocks are pretty tight, which is reflected in prices but we expect the situation to ease from April," said one oilseed trader in Singapore. "Prices of soybean products will come under pressure." The March soybean crush is forecast at 5.84 million tons, a 10.1% decline from February and a 19.1% from a year earlier, StoneX's Cheang said. Tight supplies have driven crush margins in processing hub of Rizhao to more than 450 yuan ($62.19) per ton. A slower pace of customs clearance at Chinese ports added to the supply squeeze. China has in recent years increased the rate of quality inspections on imported soybean cargoes, lengthening clearing times and delaying discharge amid rising imports of the oilseed. Some shipments from the port to crushing plants can take between 20 and 25 days, up from 15 days typically, said a China-based trader.
