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BEIJING, March 7 (Reuters) – China’s soybean imports in the first two months of 2022 rose from the previous year, customs data showed on Monday, beating market expectations.
China, the world’s top importer of soybeans, brought in 13.94 million tonnes of the oilseed in the Jan-Feb period, up 4.1% from 13.41 million tonnes in the previous year, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.
The arrivals were larger than what the market had expected, as adverse weather cut new crops and delayed exports in Brazil, top supplier of soybeans to China.
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“Imports in the first months of 2022 were larger than we expected. Based on our data, the arrivals were not this high. Otherwise there wouldn’t be such tightness in the domestic market,” said Zou Honglin, analyst with the agriculture section of Mysteel, a China-based consultancy.
“There might be some non-commercial cargoes among the arrivals. The commercial buying did not support such high figures,” Zou said.
China does not break out separate import figures for the first two months of the year due to the impact of the Lunar New Year holiday.
Drought and excessive rains in some regions in top producer and exporter Brazil have slashed estimates for the new crop there, as well as delaying harvests and loading at ports.
Smaller than expected soybean arrivals have forced some major crushing plants in China to suspend operations, sending soymeal prices higher.
Refinitiv trade flows tracked 7.8 million tonnes of China soybean imports in January and 4.4 million tonnes for February imports, as production losses and delays in South America affected soybean supplies for China.
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Reporting by Hallie Gu and Dominique Patton
Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Karishma Singh
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBEIJING, March 7 (Reuters) – China’s soybean imports in the first two months of 2022 rose from the previous year, customs data showed on Monday, beating market expectations.China, the world’s top importer of soybeans, brought in 13.94 million tonnes of the oilseed in the Jan-Feb period, up 4.1% from 13.41 million tonnes in the previous year, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.The arrivals were larger than what the market had expected, as adverse weather cut new crops and delayed exports in Brazil, top supplier of soybeans to China.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com”Imports in the first months of 2022 were larger than we expected. Based on our data, the arrivals were not this high. Otherwise there wouldn’t be such tightness in the domestic market,” said Zou Honglin, analyst with the agriculture section of Mysteel, a China-based consultancy.”There might be some non-commercial cargoes among the arrivals. The commercial buying did not support such high figures,” Zou said.China does not break out separate import figures for the first two months of the year due to the impact of the Lunar New Year holiday.Drought and excessive rains in some regions in top producer and exporter Brazil have slashed estimates for the new crop there, as well as delaying harvests and loading at ports.Smaller than expected soybean arrivals have forced some major crushing plants in China to suspend operations, sending soymeal prices higher.Refinitiv trade flows tracked 7.8 million tonnes of China soybean imports in January and 4.4 million tonnes for February imports, as production losses and delays in South America affected soybean supplies for China.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Hallie Gu and Dominique Patton Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Karishma SinghOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.