China soybean imports hit record October high on strong South American supply

BEIJING: China’s soybean imports reached a record level for the month of October, a Reuters calculation of customs data showed on Friday, as buyers ramped up purchases from South America, while Beijing and Washington were mired in a trade war.

The world’s top soybean buyer brought in 9.48 million metric tons in October, the General Administration of Customs said, up 17.2% from 8.09 million tons a year earlier. China’s soybean imports have set records from May through October of this year.

“October soybean imports reached a record high for the month as crushers rushed to buy as much as they could, aiming to secure steady production and avoid possible price spikes in Brazil caused by missed China–US shipments,” said Wang Wenshen, an analyst at Sublime China Information.

In the first 10 months of the year, China’s soybean imports rose 6.4% from a year earlier to 95.68 million tons, the customs data showed. But October imports were down 26.3% from September, reflecting typical seasonal patterns.

“In September, the concentrated arrivals of Brazil’s old-crop soybeans reached their final stage, resulting in a high comparison base,” said Liu Jinlu, an agricultural researcher at Guoyuan Futures.

“October typically marks the start of the US soybean harvest, but due to the earlier suspension of China-US soybean trade, shipments of new-crop US beans were almost nonexistent,” she added. Beijing initiated modest purchases of American farm products after the leaders of China and the US met last week.

But traders were still awaiting significant purchases of soybeans after the White House said Beijing pledged to buy 12 million tons by the end of the year.

Traders and analysts said China’s decision to maintain a 13% tariff on soybeans made US shipments too expensive for commercial buyers, when compared with Brazilian cargoes.

Recently, Chinese importers bought 20 cargoes of cheaper Brazilian soybeans as South American prices eased on expectations that US sales would resume, while COFCO took three US cargoes ahead of the US-China leaders’ meeting.