Chinese companies book first shipment of soybean meal from Argentina since 2019

Chinese companies have booked their first shipment of soybean meal from Argentina since Beijing approved imports from Argentina in 2019, as the Chinese animal feed industry seeks to expand supply options to mitigate potential disruptions from the US-China trade war.

Four trade sources told Reuters on Thursday that several Chinese feed makers had signed a joint deal to buy 30,000 tonnes of Argentine soybean meal for delivery in July.

“This is just a trial case,” said one Singapore-based trader at an international trading company that sells soybeans to China. “If it passes China’s inspection and quarantine, we expect more deals.”

The cargo, bought at $360 a tonne on a cost and freight (CNF) basis, is expected to arrive in the southern province of Guangdong in September, the sources said.

China is the world’s largest consumer of the protein-rich animal feed raw material, but produces most of it by crushing soybeans, mostly imported from Brazil and the United States. Argentina is the world’s largest exporter of soybean oil and meal.

Chinese buyers have been snapping up Brazilian soybeans and avoiding U.S. exports due to high tariffs imposed in the ongoing trade war between Beijing and Washington.

Argentina’s Chamber of Oilseeds Processing and Export told Reuters on Wednesday it had met with a traveling Chinese delegation, including Liu Huanxin, director of China’s National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, to discuss soybean meal exports.

“We have talked at length about the possibility of exporting soybean meal, and he seemed open to it if commercial conditions allow,” said Gustavo Idigoras, head of the CIARA-CEC chamber.

A Singapore trader told Reuters that Chinese feed makers’ purchases of Argentina’s feed were part of efforts to protect supplies in case the trade war had a lasting impact on U.S. soybean imports.

Traders said the move was also helped by lower prices for Argentine products compared with locally produced ones.

China opened its market to Argentine soybean meal in 2019 after years of negotiations.

Despite the approval, no bulk purchases of Argentine soybean meal have been recorded so far, according to Chinese customs data.

Argentina’s Ydigoras hinted that steps could still be taken to formalize the soybean meal deal, and that the Chinese market remains “complex” and difficult to access given Beijing’s preference to crush its own beans.

“There are a lot of inquiries from Chinese firms for Argentine meal, but at the moment we have no confirmed deals,” he said. “Last year, Argentina exported 30 million tons of soybean meal, so it has a very significant supply capacity for China’s needs.” According to customs data, China imported only 30,000 tons of soybean meal in all of 2024, mostly from Denmark.

Tags: China, soybean meal, Argentina