A glut of soy in China due to severe outbreaks of bird flu is likely to reduce demand for imports this summer from the world’s largest consumer, with reports of defaults on some cargoes already rattling markets.
China’s imports of soy, an important source of poultry and livestock feed, surged 33 per cent in the first quarter to 15.35m tonnes, customs data showed on Thursday.
March imports were a healthy 4.62m tonnes following even stronger imports in the first two months of the year – which have helped drive soyabean prices to an eight-month high above $15 a bushel this week. The surge in supply is expected to reduce demand for cargoes from North and South America over the next two quarters, however, and the price of forward month soyabeans fell 0.7 per cent on Thursday to $14.87 a bushel.