China’s soybean imports fell by 15% in May

In May, the country imported 11.79 million tonnes of soybeans, a 15.3% decrease from the same month a year earlier (13.92 million tonnes). However, this volume exceeded market expectations of around 11 million tonnes, Reuters reports, citing data from the General Administration of Customs of China.

According to market operators, the increase in import figures was partly due to a reduction in customs clearance times at Chinese ports to 10-14 days, compared to around 25 days previously. This means that a certain portion of the shipments reflected in May import figures were shipments that were not received in April due to customs clearance delays.

In total, China imported 36.94 million tonnes of soybeans from January to May of this year, a 0.4% decrease compared to the same period last year (37.11 million tonnes).

It is also reported that, according to analysts, soybean supplies to the country in June-August could average 10-11 million tons per month.

Tags: China, soybean, imports