Record Brazil shipments drive China’s June soybean import surge

China's soybean imports in June hit a monthly record high, a Reuters calculation of customs data showed on Monday, driven by a surge in shipments from top supplier Brazil.

The world's largest soybean buyer brought in 12.26 million tonnes in June, up 10.35 per cent from 11.11 million tonnes a year earlier.

"June's import surge was fuelled by a strong Brazilian harvest and increased buying of Brazilian beans amid ongoing China-US trade tensions," said Wan Chengzhi, an analyst at Capital Jingdu Futures.

According to shipping data provider Kpler, China imported 9.73 million tonnes of soybeans from Brazil in June, while shipments from the US totalled just 724,000 tonnes. Official origin data is expected to be released on July 20.

Wang Wenshen, an analyst at Shandong-based Sublime China Information, said that strong profits from earlier high spot prices for soybean meal also encouraged more buying.

In the first half of the year, China imported a total of 49.37 million tonnes of soybeans, up 1.8 per cent from a year earlier, the General Administration of Customs data showed.

Soybean arrivals in China for July are expected to total 10.48 million tonnes, compared with 9.85 million tonnes a year earlier, based on average estimates from one trader and two analysts.

"Recent data shows Brazil's weekly shipments remain high, reinforcing expectations of strong soybean imports into China through July and August," Wan said.

"China has not yet purchased any fourth-quarter US soybeans, with buying decisions likely hinging on the outcome of future China-US trade talks."

(Reporting by Ella Cao and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Stephen Coates)