Market News & Headlines >> China Soy Imports Up in August

China’s August soybean imports were up 9.7% over July and were the highest for any month in more than a year, according to preliminary customs data released on Monday, but imports are expected to slide in September with the country’s African swine fever outbreak hurting feed demand. 

Preliminary data from China’s General Authority for Customs put August soybean imports at 9.48 million metric tons, up from 8.64 million tons in July and 9.15 million tons in August 2018. The monthly total was the largest for any month since May 2018. 

However, the increase in imports was due in part to delays to shipments that were booked for earlier delivery. "Some cargoes from the United States did not get loaded earlier and only cleared customs in August," Xie Huilan, analyst with Chinese industry portal Cofeed.com told Reuters News Service before the data was released. 

China’s January-August soybean imports, at 56.31 million metric tons, were still down 9.2% from a year earlier, according to customs data.