China soybean crush falls to 7-week low amid flood disruptions

Soybean crush volumes in China last week shrank to their lowest since mid-June because of floods in the central and southern parts of the country which disrupted logistics.

Total crush volume fell 100,000 mt to 1.96 milllion mt last week, down 70,000 mt from the same week last month but still 390,000 mt higher year-on-year, according to data from China’s National Grain and Oil Information Centre (CNGOIC) published Thursday.

“Due to floods in the middle and downstreams of the Yangtze River affecting soybean transportation, some crushers halted operations due to a lack of soybeans,” CNGOIC said.

Despite the lower crush, soymeal stocks were stable week on week while soyoil stocks edged higher amid a slower procurement rate. Soymeal stocks were flat at 900,000 mt and soyoil stocks climbed by 40,000 mt to 1.25 million mt.

In contrast, soybean stocks fell 200,000 mt to 6.65 million mt last week, reflecting a slower pace of vessel landings.

Stocks were still up 590,000 mt month-on-month and were up 170,000 mt on the same week of last year.