China’s weekly soybean crush level drops for third consecutive week: CNGOIC

China’s soybean crush volume decreased to 1.53 million tonnes in the week to Friday March 22, a decline of 6.71%, or 110,000 tonnes, from the previous week, according to data published this week by the China National Grain and Oil Information Centre (CNGOIC).

This marked the third straight week of declines for the weekly crush volume, with some crushers having suspended operations due to a lack of soybeans or the need to examine their machines.

The level was similar to that of a year ago and the three-year average, the CNGOIC said.

The CNGOIC estimates there will be 6.6 million tonnes for the whole of the month, including 5 million tonnes crushed between March 1 and March 22.

Soybean stocks at major crushers dropped by 12.47% from the previous week to 3.37 million tonnes as of March 22, with the level also representing a 44.84% decline from a month ago and a 52.13% drop from a recent high of 7.04 million tonnes in mid-January.

Imported soybean arrivals are expected to reach 6.5 million tonnes for March, similar to the same period last year, while monthly soybean arrivals are expected to rise to 10 million in the second quarter, helped by concentrated dispatches of South American beans in mid to late April, the CNGOIC said.

Soymeal stocks also continued to drop, reaching 440,000 tonnes as of March 22. This marked a 22.81% decline from the previous week and a 15.38% drop from a year ago.

Soyoil stocks were at 740,000 tonnes as of March 22, a 2.53% drop from the previous week but a 4.05% rise from a year ago.

Soyoil prices have increased since February due in large part to rising palm oil prices and declining soyoil stocks.

Due to the tight supply of soybeans, soyoil prices will likely remain firm this month, although the situation could change with more arrivals of soybeans next month, the CNGOIC said.