
soybeans shipped out of the Pacific Northwest for February delivery are at about 500 yuan ($78.49) per tonne, compared with 684 yuan for Brazilian beans, according to Mysteel. In addition, Brazilian soybeans offer better crush margins for Chinese soy processors, thanks to higher average protein levels in Brazilian soybeans.

soybeans have also faced price headwinds, with export offers trading fairly close to those out of Brazil, where freight costs to China are lower. "American beans won't have such opportunity in the coming months, as planting of Brazilian beans is fast this year, meaning there will be ample beans to be shipped to China in the first quarter of 2022," said Zou Honglin, analyst with the agriculture division of Mysteel, a China-based commodities consultancy. soybean shipments to China in 2020-21 were the strongest since the 2016-17 season, thanks in part to a delayed start to the 2021 Brazil export season that helped extend U.S. market share was squeezed by Brazilian beans," Bai said.

"Then there was the impact from Hurricane Ida. Crush margins were low and demand was not good at that time," said Bai Jie, analyst with COFCO futures. (soybean) export season had a bad start this year. loadings picked up sharply in October to over 10 million tonnes, according to Refinitiv data, but now face the prospect of an earlier-than-usual start to the 2022 export season out of Brazil, the world largest soy producer. harvest window, blunting China's appetite for U.S. Department of Agriculture data.įurther, the main drivers of China's soy demand - crushing and hog production margins - hit a soft patch right during the peak U.S. ports for several days in September - resulted in an 81% drop in China-bound shipments that month from the year before, according to U.S. soybean deals during the post-harvest window from September through December.īut this year the aftermath of Hurricane Ida - which hobbled crop-loading at key U.S. More than half of those sales tend to go to China, which in turn makes around 70% of its U.S.
