China's soybean imports for 2014-15 is expected to reach a record-breaking total of 76 million metric tons, up 8 percent year on year, according to the latest projections released by the National Grain & Oils Information Center. The increase in imports is due to the higher domestic demand for soy meal as well as the expansion of crushing capacity that in turn promotes the growth in imports.
In addition, the demand of the food industry for soybean is also on the rise. The projections by the National Grain & Oils Information Center are higher than the current forecasts from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) by 2 million metric tons.
According to the data released by the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China, in July the imports of soybean registered a total of 9.5 million metric tons, 17.4 percent higher from the imports in June, hitting a record high over the same period. The increase was due to the lower prices of the soybean imports in South America.
As per projections by the National Grain & Oils Information Center, the total imports of soybean combined in August and September is expected to reach 13 million metric tons, jumping from the 11.06 million metric tons over the same period last year. As was forecast by the Information Center, in 2015-16, the pace of soybean imports is expected to slow down, with the forecast total imports being 77 million metric tons, a little lower than the current projections by the USDA. China's soybean yield in 2016 is expected to decrease to 11 million metric tons, down from the output of 12.15 million metric tons this year.
