BEIJING, CHINA — China’s soybean imports dropped 24.5% in August compared to a year ago due to high global prices and weak demand, Reuters reported.
China purchased 7.17 million tonnes of soybeans in August, down from 9.49 million tonnes a year earlier, according to data from the General Administration of Customs. That is the lowest for the month of August since 2014, and it was also lower than July’s 7.88 million tonnes.
Traders and analysts said the low number was expected. Global soybean prices have soared following bad weather that cut production and exports from Brazil, China’s top supplier. Prices were close to a decade high in June.
China slowed purchases and demand also softened as animal feed production slowed 7% in July versus a year ago, Reuters said.
