Chinese soybean imports rise in April as Brazilian harvest arrives

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Chinese soybean imports from Brazil increased in April compared to the preceding month, customs data showed Thursday, boosted by the arrival of shipments ordered earlier in the year but delayed after rain affected the Brazilian crop.

The world’s largest soybean importer bought 5.08 million tons of the oilseed from top supplier Brazil in April, up from just 315,334 tons in March, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

But the figure was still below the 5.939 million tons in the same month last year.

Chinese processors ramped up soybean purchases earlier this year in anticipation of rising demand for feed from the steadily recovering pork industry. However, rain delayed Brazil’s harvest and exports, which is now shipping record volumes.

Buyers turned to the United States to fill the shortfall, with China importing 2.15 million tons of soybeans in April, more than three times the 665,591 tons shipped in the same month last year, but well below the 7.18 million tons in March.

“China bought U.S. soybeans when weather delayed shipments in Brazil,” said an industry source who closely monitors the soybean market.

“Brazilian soybeans should arrive in May in a concentrated way,” said the source, who declined to identify himself for not being authorized to speak to the media. Chinese soybean imports in April from all sources totaled 7.45 million tons, up 11% from last year.

However, new outbreaks of African swine fever and a shift toward the use of more wheat for animal feed have reduced demand for soybean meal.

Chinese authorities also issued guidelines last month recommending the reduction of corn and soybean meal in pig and poultry rations, a move that could reshape the flow of grain to the world’s largest buyer of corn and soybeans.

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