(Yicai Global) Aug. 26 -- China will increase its soybean imports in the second half and prices are expected to remain stable as the global spread of Covid-19 has dampened worldwide demand leading to abundant supply, an official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said today.

China imported 55.14 million tons of soybeans in the first seven months of the year, a gain of 17.6 percent from the same period last year, said Tang Ke, head of the Ministry’s department of market and informatization. July imports were up 16.8 percent year on year to 10.09 million tons.

The price of imported soybeans in eastern Shandong province rose just 1.6 percent last month from the month before to CNY3.24 (USD0.47) per kilogram. This is substantially cheaper than the price of locally grown soybeans, which cost CNY5.50 per kilogram in northern Heilongjiang province in July. This was 51.2 percent more than they cost in July last year and 8.2 percent more than in June.

China mainly imports its soybeans from Brazil, the US and Argentina. The crop is mostly used to produce edible vegetable oil and soybean meal feed.

China is set to continue to import more soybeans from the US as the first phase of the China-US trade deal comes into effect. A sustained increase in supply is expected to continue to push down prices, Tang said.

Editor: Kim Taylor