China's soybean imports are on a downward trend. In September the country's imports fell 30 per cent from the same period last year, as weak crushing dampened demand, according to the General Administration of Customs.

China is the world's biggest soybean buyer. In September it imported 6.88 million tonnes, compared with 9.79 million tonnes in the same month last year, a fall of 2.91 million tonnes.

Customs data show China imported 73.97 million tonnes of soybeans in the first nine months of this year, down 0.7 per cent on the same period last year. The department said imports may also fall this month. Stocks of soybeans and soymeal in the country also fell last month.

Early this year the rapidly recovering pig-farming sector created strong demand for soybeans, so crushers increased their purchases. But at the start of the second half of the year, demand fell to a record low.

Source: Bonik Barta. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.