BEIJING: China’s soybean imports tumbled in March to their lowest for the month since 2008, as tariff-weary processors shied away from US beans and delays in Brazil’s harvest reduced shipments.
Total imports for the month reached 3.5 million metric tons, down 36.8% from the same period last year, showed data from the General Administration of Customs.
Over January-March, soybean arrivals into the world’s biggest soybean buyer totalled 17.11 million tons, a decline of 7.9% from 18.58 million tons a year earlier, the data showed.
The figure was below analysts’ and traders’ first-quarter forecasts of 17.3 million to 18.0 million tons.
“The market was concerned about a trade war after Trump took office. Additionally, with expectations of a bumper crop in Brazil, most orders were for Brazilian soybeans,” said analyst Rosa Wang at Shanghai-based agro-consultancy JCI. Wang said the delayed harvest and traffic jam in Brazil - China’s biggest supplier - added pressure on imports in March. Soybean trade has not escaped the Sino-US trade war.
China raised tariffs on all US imports to 125% in response to US President Donald Trump’s tariff action.
That came on top of the 10% to 15% levies imposed in early March on some $21 billion worth of US agricultural and food products, pushing tariffs on US soybeans to 135%.
The escalation has accelerated a shift toward Brazilian supplies.
Chinese soybean crushers secured at least 40 cargoes of Brazilian soybeans in the first half of last week alone, mainly for delivery over May through July, Bloomberg reported.
China’s soybean meal prices drop as soybean imports rise, tariff impact dims
Analysts expect soybean imports to set a record of 31.3 million tons in April-June driven by the arrival of freshly harvested beans from Brazil’s bumper crop.
As of Friday, Brazilian farmers had harvested 89.09% of the 2024/2025 soybean crop, versus 85.13% at the same time last season, said consultancy firm Patria Agronegocios.
China buys soybeans to crush into meal for animal feed and oil for cooking.
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