Beijing (Reuters) – China imported a record volume of soybeans in 2025, with buyers sharply increasing orders from South America amid fears of supply shortages if a trade war with Washington persists.
The world’s largest buyer of the oilseed imported 111.83 million tons in 2025, an increase of 6.5% compared to the previous year, according to customs data released this Wednesday.
“Concentrated shipments from major producers including Brazil and Argentina drove a sharp increase in imports in the first half of the year, helping to lift annual totals to a record level,” said Liu Jinlu, agricultural researcher at Guoyuan Futures.
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This resulted from increased uncertainty over imports following the escalation of the trade war between China and the US in the second and third quarters, leading Chinese buyers to bring forward large-scale purchases of South American soybeans, she added.
December arrivals rose 1.3% year-on-year to 8.04 million tonnes, according to calculations by Reuters based on customs data.
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December is as expected
Chinese soybean imports in December were generally in line with market expectations, said Wang Wenshen, an analyst at Sublime China Information.
“Customs clearance delays have slowed the flow of imported soybeans, leading some crushing plants to suspend operations or reduce deliveries amid supply shortages,” he added.
Wang expects a total of 7.48 million tons of soybeans in January and 5.2 million tons in February, given a tighter supply scenario.
On a monthly basis, however, December shipments fell 0.9% compared to November, which was the third consecutive month in which China did not import soybeans from the United States.
China’s soybean imports hit records from May to October last year as buyers snapped up shipments from South America while avoiding U.S. soybeans due to high tariffs.
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US purchases increased after truce
Beijing stepped up purchases of US soybeans following a trade truce with Washington in late October.
Traders and analysts estimated that as of early last week, China had purchased nearly 10 million tons of U.S. soybeans, or up to 80% of the 12 million that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China had committed to buying by the end of February.
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China’s state-owned stockpiler has held four auctions since December in an apparent attempt to free up storage for U.S. soybean shipments expected in the coming weeks.
