China’s soybean imports up 11% in April with arrival of delayed shipments

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – China’s soybean imports in April rose 11% from the same month last year, boosted by the arrival of some late Brazilian shipments, customs data showed Friday.

China, the world’s largest importer of soybeans, unloaded 7.45 million tons of the oilseed in April, up from 6.71 million tons last year, according to the General Administration of Customs.

“It was a rather robust number because of the delays we’ve seen in Brazil this year,” Darin Friedrichs, senior analyst at StoneX, said after the data was released.

“May imports should be even stronger, as peak shipments from Brazil should be coming in now.” Brazil exported a record monthly volume of soybeans in April of over 17 million tons, according to Brazilian government data.

Chinese processors have increased purchases of soybeans from major Brazilian and U.S. exporters in the early months of 2021, expecting higher demand as the country’s pork herd recovers.

However, rainfall in Brazil delayed the harvest and export of its soybeans, resulting in a sharp drop in shipments to China in March. Importers turned to the United States to make up the shortfall.

Brazilian shipments are expected to increase and dominate the Chinese market from April through the end of the year, traders and analysts said. “April imports were below market expectations, as delays in Brazil still affected arrivals in the month,” said Zou Honglin, analyst at trade website Myagric.com.

In the first 4 months of the year, China imported 28.63 million tons of soybeans, up 17% from the same period last year, data showed.

Soybean crush margins fell into negative territory in late March, when a fresh outbreak of African swine fever and increased use of wheat in feed hampered appetite for soybean meal. Margins have improved in recent weeks as demand has recovered, although they remain restrained by rising international soybean prices.

“Demand (in April) was expected to increase by 10-15% from March, mainly from pig farming,” said a manager at a processor in southern China, speaking ahead of the data release.

“But we are still losing money (crushing soybeans)” as the price of the raw material is too high, said the manager, who did not want to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

China also imported 3.8 million tons of vegetable oils during the January-April period, up 47.4% from last year, customs data showed.

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