China’s soybean harvest may slide 7% on delayed plantings
Posted online: Saturday, July 02, 2005 at 0048 hours IST
JULY 1: China, the world’s biggest soybean importer, may gather 7% less of the oilseed this year because of planting delays caused by excess rain in Heilongjiang, the biggest soybean-growing province, a research report said.
Farmers may reap this year about 17 million tonne of the oilseed, used to make meal to feed poultry and livestock and cooking oil, according to a report today by Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultant Ltd. The harvest last year was 18.3 million tonne, the report said.
A drop in production may boost demand for imports from China, which counts on the US, Brazil and Argentina to meet about half of the country’s consumption. China more-than-doubled soybean imports to 2 million tonne in May from the year-ago period. Imports are forecast to rise 41% to 23.8 million tonne in the marketing year ending September 30, Beijing Orient said.
“China’s production definitely can’t meet demand,” Lu Xu, manager of China International Futures Co, the nation’s biggest futures brokerage, said in Beijing. “The production forecast reflects mainly concern about the weather.”
financialexpress.com |
