China increased soybean imports in April

China’s soybean imports jumped 18% in April from a year earlier, data showed on Thursday, as buyers snapped up cheap Brazilian soybeans as the South American country wrapped up its harvest season, UkrAgroConsult reports, citing Reuters.

According to the Main Customs Administration, the total volume of revenues for the month amounted to 8.57 million tons, which is the highest figure for April.

According to the data, in January-April, the world’s largest buyer of soybeans totaled 27.15 mln tonnes, down 2.9% compared to the same period last year.

According to an analyst with a Chinese agricultural trading firm based in Shanghai, who declined to be named, the increase was driven by higher demand for soybean meal for animal feed as profit margins on pig farms improved.

According to Liu Jinglu, agricultural researcher at Guoyuan Futures, Chinese buyers preferred cheaper Brazilian supplies.

Prices for Brazilian soybeans for delivery to China in June-August are between $505 and $518 per tonne on a cost and freight basis, while shipments from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico for those three months are $536 on a cost and freight basis, Liu said.

Liu expects soybean arrivals in May and June to average 11 million tons.

However, the recent heavy rains and severe flooding in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil’s second largest producing state, is disrupting the last stages of the harvest and hindering the transportation of grain to ports.

Potential crop damage has overshadowed supply prospects for the world’s largest soybean producer and pushed up soybean futures prices in Chicago.

U.S. soybean exports to China, which have been declining for several years as Brazil increases its dominance in the world’s largest oilseed market, will face increased competition from Argentina, the world’s third largest producer, in 2024.

China’s imports of vegetable oil in April totaled 494,000 tons, down 17.7% from the previous month, customs data showed.

Tags: China, Brazil, soybean, Argentina