THE country’s soybean imports in September fell 13.5 percent from the previous month, customs data showed yesterday, as an epidemic of African swine fever that has slashed China’s pig herd reduced demand for soymeal.

China, the world’s top market for soybeans, brought in 8.2 million tons of the oilseed in September, down from last month’s 9.48 million tons, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs.

Still, the figure was above 8.01 million tons in the same month a year ago, with importers stepping up buying of Brazilian beans on worries of supply shortages amid a Sino-U.S. trade conflict.

“The volume of soybeans crushed in September was relatively small as crush margins and demand for soymeal have fallen due to African swine fever,” said Xie Huilan, an analyst with Cofeed, an agribusiness research firm.

China’s pig herd shrank by 38.7 percent in August versus a year ago, according to data published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in early September.

China is also stuck in a trade dispute with the United States, curbing shipments from traditionally its second-largest supplier of soybeans.

“The figures were within expectation, as crushers increased imports of quite some beans from South America in August, mainly on worries that the [Sino-U.S.] trade negotiations would not go well,” said Monica Tu, analyst with consultancy Shanghai JC Intelligence Co. Ltd.

For the first nine months of the year, China bought in 64.511 million tons of soybeans, down 7.9 percent from the same period last year, customs data showed.

(SD-Agencies)