China’s soybean imports from the United States tumbled 62% in July from a year earlier while shipments from Brazil, its top supplier, surged 32%, data showed on Sunday, spurred by a bumper crop and lower prices in the Latin American country.

China, the world’s top buyer of soybeans, imported 142,129 metric tons of the oilseed from the United States in July, down from 377,192 tons a year earlier, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

However, the United States remained China’s second-largest soybean supplier, accounting for 31.9% of China’s total soybean imports in the first seven months of the year.

For the January-to-July period, soybean shipments from the United States rose 13.9% year-on-year to 19.85 million tons.

China’s soybean imports from Brazil rose 32.4% in July from a year earlier to 9.23 million tons, as Chinese buyers took advantage of cheaper prices.

From January to July, China imported 38.9 million metric tons from Brazil, up 12.2% on year. Brazil accounted for 63.5% of China’s soybean imports year to date.

For corn, July imports from the U.S. rose 15.2% year-on-year to 1.74 million metric tons, while second-largest supplier Ukraine shipped 1.1 million metric tons.

Corn imports from Bulgaria reached 393,655 metric tons in July, making it the third-largest supplier.

Brazilian corn arrivals ranked fourth in July at 115,500 million metric tons. Brazil’s maize exports via southern ports rose 221% in the first half of the year amid Ukraine’s absence from the market.

Source: Reuters