China’s share of Brazil soybean export at 5-yr low in Oct.

China’s share of Brazilian soybean exports in October fell to its lowest level for the month since 2015 as the world’s largest protein importer took 82% of all shipments, customs data released Friday showed.

China’s slice of October bean exports is down from last year’s 90% and is the lowest since 2015, as China’s demand has shifted towards US beans during the final quarter of 2020.

In absolute terms, Brazil shipped just over 2 million mt of beans to China last month, out of a total exported volume of just under 2.5 million mt.

It was the lowest October results for Brazil since 2017 when it exported a similar total amount with China taking nearly 2.2 million mt of that volume at the time.

Nearly 63 million mt of soybeans have been exported to China since Brazil’s marketing year began in February, up 22% compared with the 51.5 million mt sent during the same nine-month window in 2019.

China’s share of 2020 exports is 73.3%, compared with the 76.2% in 2019.

Brazil bean imports jump

Imports of the oilseed into the world’s largest soybean producer and exporter have surged during the second half of this year as a record export campaign earlier in the year has left the domestic market tight.

Another 97,000 mt of beans arrived in Brazil last month, supplied by Paraguay and Uruguay, and taking the total volume this calendar year to 625,000 mt.

According to Abiove, Brazil is expected to import 1 million mt in 2020, compared to the 120,000 last year and its highest since 2008.