BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s soybean imports from Brazil rose 37.5% in May from a year earlier, data showed on Friday, as buyers snapped up South America’s bumper crop, while supplies from the United States also rose 28.3%.

The world’s biggest soybean buyer imported 12.11 million metric tons of the oilseed from Brazil last month, compared with 8.81 million tons in the same month a year earlier, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

May arrivals from the United States reached 1.63 million tons, up from 1.27 million tons a year earlier. U.S. supplies accounted for 11.7% of China’s total soybean imports last month.

China’s soybean imports for the month hit a record 13.92 million metric tons, more than double the volume imported in April, as customs clearance speeds returned to normal and crushing plant operation rates recovered.

Imports had fallen to a 10-year low of 6.08 million metric tons in April.

“The arrival of some previously delayed cargoes in May partly contributed to the higher import numbers,” said Liu Jinlu, an agricultural researcher at Guoyuan Futures.

From January to May, shipments from Brazil totaled 21.25 million tons, down 14.0 percent from the same period last year.

Total arrivals from the U.S. in the first five months of the year were 14.57 million tons, up 34.3 percent, the data showed.

"China boosted U.S. soybean purchases ahead of potential Sino-U.S. trade tensions, and concentrated arrivals led to a surge in imports from January to May. Harvest delays in Brazil pushed exports later, leading to a drop in Brazilian shipments," said Wan Chengzhi, an analyst at Capital Jingdu Futures.

The country's soybean arrivals are expected to remain high in the third quarter, while fourth-quarter imports will depend on the outcome of U.S.-China trade talks, Wan added.

China imported 111,603 tonnes of soybeans from Argentina in the five-month period, down 47.5% from the same period last year, although data showed no arrivals in May.

Source: Notícias Agrícolas