China's 2020 US soybean imports surged though likely missed trade target

BEIJING: China's soybean imports from the United States in 2020 rose by 52.8% from a year earlier, customs data showed on Wednesday, though the stepped up buying likely fell short of what was needed to fulfil last year's trade deal between the countries.

The world's top soybean buyer last year brought in 25.89 million tonnes of the oilseed from the US, its second-largest supplier, up from 16.94 million tonnes in 2019.

Chinese buyers stepped up US farm produce purchases to meet China's pledge to buy $36.5 million in farm goods in 2020 under the Phase 1 trade deal signed with Washington last January. Soybean purchases were expected to make up half of the monetary target and estimates showed China needed to import about 40 million tonnes to make good on the deal.

Besides the push to meet the trade deal, soybean imports also rose as China rapidly replenished its pig herd after it was decimated by the deadly African swine fever during the last two years.

Chinese crushers mostly buy soybeans to crush into soymeal to feed livestock, mainly pigs, and soyoil.

In December, US arrivals surged to 5.84 million tonnes, up from 3.09 million the previous year, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

Shipments from Brazil, China's biggest soybean supplier, were 1.18 million tonnes in December, down from 4.83 million a year earlier, as shipments dwindled after abundant arrivals in earlier months.

For 2020, Brazilian shipments were 64.28 million tonnes, up 11.46% from 2019's 57.67 million tonnes, and almost two-thirds of total annual imports.

China's soybean imports in 2020 were a record 100.33 million tonnes.

China is expected to import even more soybeans in the new year on strong demand and crush margins.

Crushers in Rizhao in Shandong province, a major processing hub for the beans, can make about 237 yuan ($36.64) from every tonne of beans crushed, about two times higher than a year ago.