HONG KONG (Reuters) – China, the world’s top soybean buyer, plans to introduce new restrictions on imports from the United States, Brazil and Argentina because of quality concerns.
Grain traders in Chicago are skeptical of the ban, noting China loaded a large amount of American soybeans from the U.S. Gulf in early August.
But Asian traders said China’s quarantine authorities had verbally informed embassy officials from the three countries of the new restrictions in Beijing on Aug. 7. The U.S., Brazil and Argentina are the top three soybean exporters.
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Traders said they had no further details on the restrictions, including when they would take effect.
They saw the move as an attempt to rein in China’s runaway soybean imports ahead of its domestic harvest starting in September or October.
Traders have long said Chinese 2003 soy imports were heading toward 20 million tonnes after surging 211.6 percent to 10.15 million tonnes in the first half of the year.
Brazilian soybean analysts and traders said the decision may have been prompted by a deluge of Brazilian bean exports to China in 2003.
“China has tried to slow the incredible flow of shipments for months by withholding clearance for some ships,” said Carlos Cogo, an analyst for Rio Grande do Sul-based Agromercados.
Brazil shipped 3.75 million tonnes of beans worth $784 million US to China from January to June, a 541 percent increase on the 586,000 tonnes shipped in the same period in 2002, according to the Brazilian trade ministry.
“This is a political move by China to support local producer prices, but the crushing industry will have a say, too,” Cogo said.
“They (crushers) won’t suffer high bean prices for long and will pressure for free imports.”
The U.S. warned China to remove new barriers to American soybean shipments.
“China’s decision to suspend soybean imports … is unacceptable,” said Allen Johnson, the chief agriculture negotiator for the U.S. trade representative’s office.
China buys about $1 billion worth of American soybeans a year.
In recent years, China has interrupted soybean purchases over concerns about the safety of genetically modified beans. The majority of U.S. soybeans are genetically modified.
