China imported 11.16 million tons of soybeans in June, according to Chinese customs data, but —as is typical for this time of the year — most of the purchases were from countries other than the U.S.
Reuters reported on Monday that 10.51 million tons of soybeans came from Brazil, an increase of 91% from 5.5 million tons last year.
Reuters also noted that China imported 267,553 tons of soybeans from the U.S. the same month, a 56.5% drop from 614,805 tons in 2019.
Brazil’s main soybean planting season begins in early November and the crop is typically harvested by April, so it’s normal for a large amount of Brazilian soybeans to be purchased in the summer months.
As Agri-Pulse has previously reported, China has been increasing its purchases of U.S. soybeans this year, in part an effort to comply with its purchase commitments under the "phase one" trade deal. Many of the contracts are for delivery in the new crop year, which begins Sept. 1.
According to Reuters, China’s weekly soybean inventories grew to 7.39 million tons by July 21 and are expected to continue to remain high as Brazil continues to send large shipments.
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