The USDA’s Foreign Ag Service expects China to import slightly fewer soybeans this marketing year.
The FAS pegs 2023/24 purchases by the world’s largest buyer of beans at 100 million tons, 860,000 below the 2022/23 record high due to a larger carryover.
That would still be up about 10 million tons from the 2021/22 marketing year as China tries to meet feed demand for its domestic livestock industry.
China’s domestic soybean crush is seen at 96 million tons, which would be up 2 million on the year.