08
Sep
China’s Soybean Imports Expected To Hit Another Record High In 2017/18: Lower government support to corn production continues to stimulate Chinese planting of oilseeds, primarily soybeans. As a result, marketing year (MY) 2017/18 soybean acreage is up by +9.8% compared to the previous year. The acreage expansion together with expected good yield supports a higher forecast for MY17/18 soybean production of 14.2 million metric tons (MMT) or a net growth of +1.3 MMT from the previous year. However, China’s rising demand for oilseeds continues to outpace the growth in domestic oilseed production. Chinese imports of oilseeds are expected to grow to another record forecast of 92.5 MMT in MY17/18, up by +1.5 MMT over the previous year estimate. Chinese imports of U.S. soybeans were 35 MMT in MY16/17 and forecast to hold steady or grow slightly in MY17/18. Forecast economy growth of about +6.7% in 2017 and the ongoing modernization of China’s domestic feed and livestock sectors continue to boost consumption of oilseed products. In addition, soybean meal use is also up partly due to a significant fall in imports of distiller’s dried grains (DDGS) since January 2017. (Source: USDA)
Canadian Canola Stocks Fall To Four-Year Low: Statistics Canada forecasts the country’s canola stocks will drop by -36% to 1.35 million metric tons. This will be the lowest inventory level in four years. The data follows a strong period for Canadian exports, the world’s biggest, which the International Grains Council pegs at a record 11.1 million metric tons over 2016/17. For wheat, StatsCan reports Canadian wheat inventories at the close of 2016/17 at 6.87 million metric tons – a +33% surge year on year, and ahead of the 6.0 million metric tons figure expected by investors.