Soybean imports by China break record in the 1st quarter with purchases for inventory
Soybean
China
Published Mar 7, 2023
Tridge summary
China, the world's biggest buyer of oilseeds, imported a record volume of soybeans in the first two months of the year as buyers stockpiled in anticipation of healthy demand and concerns over a delayed harvest in Brazil. January-February imports reached 16.17 million tonnes, customs data showed on Tuesday, up 16.1% from a year earlier. The volume for the two months combined is the highest since at least 2008, according to Reuters filings of customs data. China's General Administration of Customs combines data from the first two months of the year to smooth out distortions caused by the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which fell this year in late January. China imported much smaller volumes of soybeans in previous decades, making it unlikely that imports before 2008 were greater than this year's level.
Original content
By Dominique Patton BEIJING (Reuters) - Imports were higher than expected and followed weak buying for much of 2022, despite a spike in December. February imports likely rose as processors, concerned about a delayed harvest in top supplier Brazil, rushed to secure more soybeans from the second-top supplier, the United States, said Rosa Wang, an analyst at Shanghai JC Intelligence. Combined sales of soybeans in Brazil in January and February fell 31% year-on-year to around 6 million tonnes, consultancy AgRural said last week. Demand for meat from China, and therefore soy meal, an ingredient in animal feed, is expected to rise this year after Beijing abandoned strict zero-Covid measures in late 2022. Large volumes have pressured soybean meal prices, ...
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