China July soybean arrivals from Brazil rise 13.9%, data shows

By Ella Cao and Lewis Jackson

BEIJING, Aug 20 (Reuters) - China's soybean imports from Brazil rose 13.9% in July from a year earlier, customs data showed on Wednesday, while supplies from the United States fell 11.5%.

The world's top soybean buyer imported 10.39 million metric tons of the oilseed from Brazil last month, or 89% of the total imports, compared with 9.12 million tons a year earlier, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

July arrivals from the U.S. stood at 420,874 tons, down from 475,392 tons a year earlier.

Overall July imports hit the highest level ever for that month at 11.67 million metric tons.

"High imports were driven by strong Brazilian supplies and lingering concerns over U.S.-China trade that spurred stockpiling," said Liu Jinlu, an agricultural researcher at Guoyuan Futures.

"Risks for the outlook hinge on U.S.-China trade talks and the impact of domestic hog capacity control policies on demand."

From January-July, China imported 42.26 million tons from Brazil, down 3% year on year, while shipments from the U.S. totalled 16.57 million tons, up 31.2%, the data showed.

China has not pre-purchased soybeans from the upcoming U.S. harvest due to high tariffs, an unusual delay that traders warn could see U.S. exporters risk missing out on billions in sales as buyers lock in Brazilian cargoes for shipment during the key U.S. marketing season.

In a Tuesday letter, U.S. soybean farmers urged President Donald Trump to reach a trade deal with China that secures significant soybean purchase agreements.

China imported 561,027 tons of soybeans from Argentina in July. Jan-July soybean imports from the country reached 672,630 tons, up 104.7% from the same period last year.