BEIJING, Nov 4 (Reuters) – China is expected to import a record five million tonnes of canola in calendar year 2014, a rise of 64 percent from 2013, due to profitable crush margins and lower domestic production, said an official think-tank this week.
China mainly imports canola from Canada. Canada had a record domestic harvest in 2013, but output this year is expected to fall 21.6 percent.
China’s imports from October to December are seen at a total of between 1.0-1.2 million tonnes, according to the estimate by the China National Grain and Oils Information Centre (CNGOIC).
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China imported 3.91 million tonnes in the first nine months of the year, a rise of 55 percent from th same point a year-ago.
“Rising imports will offset a supply gap from a lower domestic output,” said the centre. It did not give domestic output figure.
China’s National Bureau of Statistics put the country’s 2014 rapeseed harvest at 13.76 million tonnes, a rise of 2.5 percent on year, but the data has been widely doubted by traders and industry analysts.
Beijing’s stockpile of domestic output for state reserves has supported domestic prices above 5,100 yuan( C$945.50) per tonne, much more than than imported prices, including freight and tax, triggering mills to increase imports.
The ICE Canada nearby November canola contract was trading around $450 per tonne on Nov. 7.
