MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Record import of soy beans by China during June

Domestic crushing of soy increased as imports of soy oil were considerably reduced

Soy-bean imports by China, the biggest buyer, jumped to a record in June after a halt to Argentine soy oil shipments and increasing feed consumption boosted demand from crushers, according to Bloomberg.

Shipments jumped 42% from May to 6.2 million metric tons, the most ever for a single month while purchases in the first six months climbed 17% to 25.8 million tons.

China halted soybean oil shipments from Argentina, the world’s biggest supplier, in April as part of a disagreement over antidumping measures. Soybean imports may increase as hot weather and rain damages crops in China, supporting prices that have fallen about 9% this year on expectations of record global oilseed harvests.

“China’s halt of soybean oil from Argentina has led to more domestic crushing to make up for the reduced imports,” Tian Feng, analyst at BOC International (China) Ltd., said. Also, “some of the cargoes that were previously delayed at ports were able to clear customs in June.”

Beijing blocked imports of soybean oil from Argentina in response to anti-dumping investigations by the South American country on Chinese goods ranging from steel pipes to textiles, according to a state-backed trade group.

Soybeans are crushed for their oil and also processed into meal, an ingredient in feed. China’s soybean imports account for more than half of global exports and are forecast at 48 million tons this year by the U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service in its July report.

“Sales of soybean meal have improved as it remains the most attractive protein source in terms of price compared with corn and other animal feed,” Tian said.

The US is the biggest soybean supplier to China, with a 45% market share in the 2008-2009 marketing year, followed by Brazil with 39% and Argentina’s 14%, according to a February report from the US Embassy in Beijing.

Apparently China’s soy crop was hurt by temperatures that reached 41 degrees Celsius in northeast regions during the past seven days and too much rain in the south during the past month.