Latest US soybean sales to China push week’s total to 720,000 mt
China picked up an additional 260,000 mt of US soybeans overnight to take total volumes booked since Thursday to 720,000 mt – equivalent to 11 full cargoes – according to reports on Tuesday from the USDA.
China removed import tariffs on an unspecified quota of US beans for a handful of private and state crushers last week as relations in the trade war between Beijing and Washington calmed, paving the way for new purchases.
The most recent purchases were likely lifted from the PNW for delivery in the fourth quarter, according to market sources, with purchased values on a CFR basis currently unknown.
It comes after Chinese importers booked seven cargoes – 204,000 mt on Thursday and 256,000 mt on Friday – at 148 c/bu over November futures out of the PNW on a CFR China basis.
With allocated tariff-free quotas estimated at 2-2.2 million mt by the market, more purchasing of US soybeans could be expected.
But with falling crush margins in China, this quota might not be filled as quickly as had been previously anticipated, despite US soybeans now being the most cost competitive at origin if shipped out of the PNW.
On Thursday, trade estimates had highlighted that up to 15 cargoes were concluded on that day alone.
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