According to Asian traders, about half of the China’s soybean imports in the Q4 of the year must come from Brazil and Argentina, in the midst of the competitive offer of the grain in the stream of the record harvest in the region.
The leader soybean importing country must buy from Brazil and Argentina some 7 million tons of the grain between October and December 2011, part of a total demand of 15 million tons, compared to 5 million tons a year ago.
South America must respond for the biggest chunk of the business to be made in Q1 of the USA’s commercial year, according to a Melbourne trader. He says the results will depend on the price of the grain, given the Chinese buyers have an eye on the cheapest sources of the product. The Brazilian soybean was quoted at US$595 per ton C&F in China, some 10% cheaper than the American product. According to the trader, thanks to the higher competitiveness of the South American soybean, especially from Brazil, it has been leading USA to lose ground for the Latin American product.