BEIJING: China’s soybean imports in April climbed from a month ago, helped by the arrival of cargoes previously delayed by poor weather and slow harvests in South America, customs data showed on Monday.
China, the world’s top soybean importer, brought in 8.08 million tonnes of the oilseed in April, up 27% from 6.35 million tonnes in March, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.
The figures were also up from 7.45 million tonnes in the same month a year earlier.
In the first four months of the year, China imported 28.36 million tonnes of soybeans, down 0.8% from 28.59 million tonnes in the previous year, according to the data.
Bad weather in Brazil delayed harvest and exports from China’s top soybean supplier, leading to lower arrivals in the earlier months of the year.
Soymeal prices in China soared to record highs due to tightening bean and meal supplies, coming down as more cargoes arrived.
Chinese crushers bring in soybeans to make soymeal for feed for the country’s massive livestock sector and to produce cooking oil.
China is expected to need 7 million to 8 million tonnes of soybeans each month through August, traders said.
While demand in May was mostly covered, Chinese crushers were slow to buy soybeans for June-August shipments as poor crush margins curbed their appetite, Reuters reported in late April.
Importers have since booked more Brazilian soybean cargoes for shipment during the coming months, traders said.
Hog margins in China have recently recovered from record lows hit in March thanks to rising pork prices, which in turn supported soy crush margins.
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