Agricultural export firm Bunge told Reuters on Wednesday it had diverted a shipment of Argentine soybean meal that was destined for China to another destination "for commercial reasons," after reports this was due to quality concerns.
The shipment had been set to mark Argentina's first soy meal cargo to China since Beijing approved imports in 2019.
Bunge was responding to a report from Bloomberg earlier on Wednesday that said, citing unnamed sources, that the cargo was diverted due to concerns it might fail to meet Chinese quality specifications.
Gustavo Idigoras, the president of the South American nation's CIARA-CEC grains exporting and crushing chamber, told Reuters the diverted 30,000-tonne shipment was now destined for Vietnam following a request from the importer.
"It is for commercial reasons related to the importer's needs to supply consumption in Vietnam," he said, noting this was an option in the contact.
Bunge did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the new destination.
China normally buys soybeans from Argentina to process in its own plants, but analysts have recently noted that Beijing has been taking advantage of lower prices in the South American market.
Reuters reported late July and early August that China had made two purchases of Argentine soy meal totaling 60,000 tonnes.
The world's biggest exporter of soybean meal, Argentina last year shipped 27.2 million tonnes worldwide, for some $10.55 billion. Vietnam is its largest importer, buying up some 15 per cent of sales last year.
(Reporting by Maximilian Heath and Ella Cao; Writing by Paolo Laudani; Editing by Sarah Morland)