BEIJING: China’s soybean imports from Brazil in 2023 jumped 29% from the prior year, customs data showed on Saturday, expanding the South American grower’s dominance in the world’s largest soybean market and eating into the U.S. market share.

Total shipments from Brazil to China were 69.95 million metric tons last year, data from China’s General Administration of Customs showed.

Imports from the U.S. fell 13% to 24.17 million tons.

China’s total soybean imports jumped to 99.41 million tons, after Chinese buyers took advantage of cheaper supplies from Brazil’s bumper crop to feed its large pig herds.

Soybeans hover near 2-year low on positive supply outlook

Brazil’s market share grew to 70%, while the U.S. share shrank to 24%, according to Reuters calculations based on the data.

In December, soybean arrivals from Brazil were 94% higher than a year earlier at 4.98 million tons while arrivals from the United States were 31% lower at 3.85 million tons.

China’s soybean imports in the first quarter are forecast to slow by about 20% from a year earlier to 18.5 millions tons, according to a Reuters survey, after a record slaughter shrank pig herds.

Exports from Argentina, the third-largest grower, are expected to surge in 2024 amid forecasts for a rebound in its soybean crop from drought, which could bring further competition to U.S. soybeans.