China is set to import more soyabeans and soyaoil as its farmers switch to grain production, Hamburg-based oilseed analysts Oil World said in a report. China's farmers were likely to cut soyabean plantings for 2007 to 8.6 million hectares from 9.1 million in 2006.
Rapeseed would fall to 6.8 million hectares in 2007 from 7.0 million in 2006. That would mean more imports of oilseeds, mainly soyabeans, it said. "A Chinese buying team is scheduled to visit the US in May 2007 to purchase agricultural commodities and it is rumoured that purchase intentions may include around 5 million tonnes of US soyabeans," it said.
"Most or all of that is likely to be for shipment of new crop positions from September 2007." China's 2006/07 (October-September) soyaoil imports were expected to rise to 1.65 million tonnes from 1.52 million in 2005/06.
"Our estimate of Chinese soyaoil imports may be on the low side considering recent heavy shipments," it said. It estimated that Argentina exported 900,000 tonnes of soyaoil to China between October 2006 and March 2007, up from 664,000 in the same year-ago period.
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