Chinese soybean imports from Brazil increased 241% in the first two months of 2022 compared to last year, according to customs data.
The world’s biggest buyer of soybeans, China brought 3.51 million tonnes of the oilseed from Brazil in the period, up 241% from 1.03 million tonnes a year earlier, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.
Last year, rains in Brazil delayed the harvest and South American country´s exports, the biggest supplier of soybeans to China.
This year, drought has slowed harvesting and shipments in Brazil, squeezing soybean supplies in China, forcing many crushers to halt operations and pushing bran prices to record levels. Even so, soybean arrivals were still higher than the year before, the data showed.
China also brought in 10.04 million tonnes of soybeans from the United States in the first two months of 2022, down 16% from 11.9 million tonnes a year earlier, according to customs data.
In early 2021, the country increased purchases of agricultural products from the US to fulfill the commitment in the trade agreement that the two countries signed in January 2020.
