Economy
China's monthly soybean imports may climb to record
(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-04-14 16:47
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Soybean imports by China, the world's biggest consumer, will probably climb to the highest level for a single month in May after crushers increased buying, the China National Grain and Oils Information Center said.
Inbound shipments may advance to as much as 5.5 million metric tons after 4.3 million tons in April, the state-owned market researcher said in an e-mailed daily report. Shipments in April to July may total 18.8 million tons, according to Bloomberg calculations based on the center's predictions.
Increasing Chinese purchases may support futures in Chicago, which have dropped 6.8 percent this year on record Brazilian and Argentine harvests. The economy in China, which buys more than half the world's soybean exports, may have expanded 11.7 percent in the first quarter, the fastest pace in almost three years, according to Bloomberg survey of 24 economists.
"The government is curbing soybean oil imports, so the factories have to crush more to fill the shortages," said Wang Wei, manager at Xinhu Futures Co, by phone from Shandong. "Imports are surging, there's no question about it."
China stopped approving permits for soybean-oil imports from Argentina last week, four industry executives said. The South American country is the leading exporter of soybean oil and China the top buyer. The permit process halted in response to Argentina's anti-dumping investigation of Chinese goods.
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About half the cargoes were from Latin America for shipment between May 1 and Sept 30 and the remainder from US crops to be harvested in the fall, the executives said. Orders averaged three to five cargoes a week in March, said one of them.
China imported 4 million tons in March, 3 million tons in February, 4.1 million in January and a record 4.8 million tons in December, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Soybeans in Chicago climbed 0.5 percent to a seven-week high of $9.8050 a bushel today on speculation China will purchase US supplies as a dispute disrupts Argentine shipments.
Potential tightness in supplies of rapeseed and other oilseeds is supporting prices of soybean oil and meal, Wang said. Rapeseed in central and eastern China may be hurt by cold temperatures, the center said in today's report.
Soybean oil for September delivery on the Dalian Commodity Exchange gained 0.2 percent to 7,734 yuan ($1,133.02) per ton at 11:30 a.m. local time. Soybean meal gained 0.4 percent to 2,867 yuan.
