Soybeans Rise to Eight-Month High on Record China Shipments

May 27 (Bloomberg) -- Soybean futures rose to the highest in eight months in Chicago on concern record imports by China, the world’s biggest buyer of the oilseed, will erode global supplies as delays in U.S. plantings threaten to curb yields.

China’s soybean imports in May could exceed 4.5 million metric tons, the China National Grain and Oils Information Center said in a statement today. Inbound shipments may reach 4.2 million tons in June and exceed 3 million tons in July and August, it said. Imports were a record 13.9 million tons in the first four months of the year, according to the customs office.

“China came to the market with record imports” of commodities including soybeans and metals, Jonathan Barratt, managing director at Commodity Broking Services in Sydney said by phone today. That has helped lift global demand “at a time when you’d expect to see limited demand,” he said.

Soybeans for July delivery rose as much as 0.8 percent to $11.95 a bushel, the highest price for the most-active contract since Sept. 26. The contract traded at $11.925 a bushel at 3:20 p.m. Singapore time.

Plantings of soybeans, corn and wheat in the U.S. have been behind the average in the previous five years as wet weather made fields too muddy for heavy farm machinery.

Soybean planting in the U.S. as of May 24 was 48 percent finished, compared with 49 percent a year earlier, the Department of Agriculture said yesterday. The five-year average for the date was 65 percent.

‘Higher Prices’

“U.S. plantings are about 20 percent behind where they should be,” Barratt said. “This will translate into higher prices of grain,” he said.

Soybean imports by Japan, the world’s second-largest buyer, may drop 5.7 percent this year after futures in Chicago surged, an industry group said. Imports may decrease to 3.5 million tons from 3.71 million last year, Yoshikazu Sawanobori, executive director at the Japan Oil & Fat Importers & Exporters Association, said today in an interview.

Wheat for July delivery in Chicago rose 0.3 percent to $6.14 a bushel at 3:09 p.m. Singapore time after reaching $6.1725. Corn for July delivery advanced 0.2 percent to $4.2825 a bushel after trading as high as $4.315.

About 79 percent of the spring-wheat crop was seeded, versus 50 percent a week earlier and 97 percent a year earlier, the department said. The average for the date for the previous five years was 95 percent.

About 82 percent of the U.S. corn crop was planted as of May 24, the USDA said. That compares with 86 percent a year earlier and the previous five-year average of 93 percent. An estimated 52 percent of the crop had emerged from the ground, compared with the five-year average of 71 percent, according to the USDA.

Corn Planting

“When I look at the weather concerns in North America at the moment, I get a sense we’re going to see a bit more of a panic occurring,” Barratt said. Farmers may rush to plant the crops despite unfavorable weather conditions, resulting in lower yields, he said.

China’s Jilin province, the country’s top corn producer, may increase output of the grain from a year earlier after the planted area expanded, possibly boosting exports, a regional agriculture official said.

“We are striving to exceed last year’s output of 28.4 million tons,” Ren Kejun, director of Jilin’s agriculture committee, said in an interview in Changchun yesterday. The month-old seedlings are in the best condition in recent years, he said.