China's soybean imports in the fourth quarter reached 22 million tons

Data released by a Chinese grain think tank shows that China's soybean imports in the fourth quarter of this year (October to December) will reach 22 million tons, 18% higher than the same period last year, but lower than the third quarter's imports of 24.5 million tons. This means China's soybean import demand is healthy. In the fourth quarter, China will mainly import soybeans from the United States.

A report released by an industry institution states that in the 2015/16 year (October to September of the following year), China's soybean imports will remain stable at the previous year's level. China's soybean imports in the 2014/15 year were 78.36 million tons. The report says that in the coming months, soybean oil demand will help keep crushing demand firm. Due to tight soybean oil inventories, soybean crushing volume will average about 7 million tons per month. By comparison, Chinese crushing plants crushed an average of 7 to 7.5 million tons of soybeans per month in the third quarter.