China Grain Reserves Corporation (Sinograin) has reportedly not purchased soybeans from the United States since April, and an increasing majority of its purchases of imported soy has come from countries in South America, according to People's Daily.

A truck unloads soybeans imported from Brazil on the quay of a port in Nantong city, in east China's Jiangsu Province, on April 4, 2018. [Photo: IC]

In 2017, around 60 percent of soybeans imported by Sinograin came from South America, with 26.2 percent sourced from Brazil, and 43.2 percent from Argentina and Uruguay. Soybeans from the United States accounted for 30.6 percent of imports.

"In the past two years, Sinograin has proactively adjusted the source of its imports to lower the potential risk caused by over-concentration, and it has formed stable, mature, and multi-channel international supplies," said an unnamed Sinograin official. The official said that Sinograin prefers major soybean producers that maintain sound trade relations with China, have stable policies, and offer lower taxes on imports.

Statistics from China's customs agency show that imports of soybeans from South America have been outpacing imports from the United States. From 2016 to 2017, China imported 93 million tons of soybeans, among which 45 million tons were from Brazil. This accounts for almost half, 48.5 percent, of total imports. Over the same period, China imported 37 million tons of soy from the United States.