Palm | Kelapa Sawit

BEIJING, Sept 10 (Reuters) - China's soybean imports fell 3.6 percent on the month in August to 4.77 million tonnes, still the fourth largest monthly import ever, with further declines seen.

Crushers have booked less for coming months after massive imports -- a record 6.2 million tonnes in June followed by 4.95 million tonnes in July -- squeezed margins.

"Some trading houses have been losing money and reduced purchase volumes," said one trading executive in Shandong, who said firms in the province, which imports the most soybeans for trading, may have reduced imports by 20 percent from earlier months.

The China National Grain and Oils Information Centre (CNGOIC) estimates October imports could be as low as 3 million tonnes while imports in September would be about 4.5 million tonnes, still both higher than the year-ago period.

China's imports in the whole year of 2010 are likely to hit a record of more than 51 million tonnes, up 20 percent on year, CNGOIC said in a report on its web site (www.grain.gov.cn).

An expansion of crushing capacity and low soyoil imports boosted China's soybean purchases for the first eight months of the year by 20 percent to 35.53 million tonnes, General Administration of Customs figures on Friday showed.

SOYOIL IMPORTS TO PICK UP

China's soyoil imports have picked up, with August and September volumes to rise to more than 200,000 tonnes each month as compared with 407,092 tonnes of total imports in January to July, said CNGOIC.

The fourth quarter is the peak consuming season for soyoil as retailers build up stocks ahead of October and Lunar New Year holidays.

"Soyoil purchases could slow down for a short while as domestic prices are weakening, but we expect more purchases from the United States because domestic prices could turn strong later," said a trader with a state-owned company.

Chinese buyers booked 100,000 tonnes of U.S. soyoil last month for October to December shipment as buyers switch away from expensive Brazilian material, traders said.

Of the volume, Sinograin Oils Co, Ltd, a subsidiary of Sinograin, which manages the central government reserves, booked 80,000 tonnes for its own refineries at prices of between $920 and $930 per tonne, two of the traders said.

China has banned soyoil imports from Argentina, the world's largest exporter, over a wide trade dispute, prompting buyers to shift to the United States and Brazil.

Customs data showed China imported 530,000 tonnes of vegetable oils in August, down from 620,000 tonnes in July. Imports in the first eight months fell 16.3 percent on year to 5.16 million tonnes.