China’s soybean imports from Brazil rose in March, despite higher prices, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.
The world’s top importer of soybeans, China´s imports from Brazil in March stood at 2.87 million tonnes, up from 315,334 tonnes a year earlier.
Drought hit Brazil’s new crop this year, cutting output and delaying some shipments. As the prices of Brazilian cargoes rose, Chinese buyers turned to U.S. soybeans.
Poor crush margins, hit by weak hog margins, also curbed purchases of soybeans, which get crushed into soybean meal for the livestock sector, and cooking oil.
Farmers in the major southwestern producing province of Sichuan now lose about 240 yuan ($37.51) on each pig raised.
Chinese imports from the United States slid in March from a year earlier, customs data showed, as poor margins curbed buying.
New historic record for trade between Brazil and China in 2021
China brought in 3.37 million tonnes from the U.S., down sharply from 7.18 million a year earlier
Beijing had stepped up purchases of U.S. farm goods, including soybeans, after an initial trade deal in January 2020 between the two countries.
U.S. cargoes in March last year were further boosted as rain slowed the harvest and exports in Brazil, China’s top supplier of the beans.
