China imports of soybeans up 53.8% in November

Preliminary data from China’s customs service indicates that soy imports reached 8.28 million tons in November. The volume is 53.8% higher than what was reached in the same month of 2018.

China bought 2.56 million tons of soybeans from the United States in November, which was almost double the volume it bought in October, which was 1.15 million tons. During this period, the exemption of tariffs for soybean purchase had not been issued by the Chinese government. In November of 2018 there was no record of US purchase,as during the period the trade war between the two countries set the tone of the negotiations.

According to the Chinese agricultural database CoFeed, Brazil remains China’s largest soybean supplier, with 3.9 million tons imported in November.

The following chart, based on Datamar DataLiner data, shows Brazilian soybean exports to China month-to-month, from January 2015:

Chart Source: DataLiner / Datamar

Rising price

According to Reuters, the most traded US soybean futures contract rose on Thursday (12/26), reaching its highest price since June 2018, with optimism about US-China trade. US traders and farmers expect China’s largest soy importer to increase grain purchases in the US following the announcement of Phase 1 of the two-country trade agreement, which includes Beijing’s commitment to increase purchases of American agricultural products.

Sources: Valor Econômico, Reuters, Nikkei Asian Review and Datamar

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