China’s seaborne soybean imports rise 4% in January-August 2026

China’s seaborne soybean imports reached 75.5 million tonnes in January-August 2026, up 4.0% from a year earlier, according to Banchero Costa figures reported by Hellenic Shipping News. Mainland China represented 65.0% of global seaborne soybean imports over the period, retaining its position as the largest destination. The increase followed growth of 2.0% in full-year 2025, when Chinese imports totalled 107.6 million tonnes.

Brazil supplied 57.0 million tonnes to China in the first eight months of 2026, a rise of just 0.4% year on year, and accounted for 75.5% of Chinese imports. Arrivals from the US slipped 1.1% to 12.3 million tonnes, giving it a 16.2% share. US shipments to China remained below the 13.9 million tonnes recorded in January-August 2024, after falling 10.8% in the corresponding period of 2025.

Banchero Costa cautioned that crop seasonality is important when assessing those flows. Brazilian shipments are concentrated between February and July and generally enter China’s arrival statistics from March to August. US exports typically reach their seasonal high in the fourth quarter and are most active during winter. With the main Brazilian season largely captured in the latest figures, the shipbroker said the forthcoming US export season would show whether Chinese buying of the US crop strengthens.

Across all destinations, US soybean exports rose 30.9% year on year to 19.3 million tonnes in January-August 2026. Argentina’s exports fell 43.1% to 3.4 million tonnes, compared with 6.0 million tonnes a year earlier. Meanwhile, EU imports recovered 5.2% to 9.7 million tonnes, equivalent to 8.3% of global seaborne imports, after declining 6.2% during full-year 2025.

Panamaxes, including Kamsarmax vessels, carried 93.1% of China’s soybean imports in 2025, the report said. Supramaxes handled 6.3%, while PostPanamaxes carried 0.3%. Rizhao was China’s largest soybean discharge port that year, receiving 9.6 million tonnes, followed by Machong with 7.4 million tonnes, Tianjin with 7.2 million tonnes and Zhangjiagang with 7.0 million tonnes.