China soybean reserve auctions continue steadily

China’s national reserve management company will continue to release soybean stocks this Thursday at the same pace as last week but in fewer provinces, according to the National Grain Trade Center.

The 500,000 tons of national soybean reserves will be auctioned across six provinces this week as opposed to eight provinces last week. The total volume remains unchanged.

This is the third round of auctions of imported soybean reserves this year since the Chinese government announced to destock national reserves in late February this year.

This move is aimed at “increasing soybean and edible oil supplies in China”, as the stocks level of the oilseed is currently near the lowest point in history due to poor crush margins and slow purchases.

The state stockpiler has so far marketed nearly 800,000 tons of soybean reserves in two arounds of auctions, with roughly 300,000 tons offered in mid-March this year and 500,000 tons offered last Friday.

Market sources expect auctions of soybean reserves to last approximately ten weeks, selling a total of 5 million tons. But there has been no official confirmation on the figure.