Chinese feed makers have booked a deal for 30,000 metric tons of Argentine soymeal for July shipment, marking the country's first such purchase since China granted import approval for the product in 2019, four trade sources told Reuters on Thursday.
The cargo was jointly purchased by several Chinese feed makers and is expected to arrive in September in southern China's Guangdong province, the sources said.
China is the world's biggest consumer of the protein-rich animal feed raw material but produces most of it by crushing soybeans mainly imported from Brazil and the United States. Argentina is the world's top exporter of soy oil and meal.
Chinese feed makers are trying to ensure supplies if Beijing's trade war with the U.S. curbs soybean purchases, the trader said.
The soymeal cargo was sold at $360 per ton on a CNF (cost and freight) basis, they added.
"This is just a test case. Some companies have got together and booked 30,000 tons. If it goes through China's inspection and quarantine, we expect more deals," said one Singapore-based trader at an international trading company, which sells soybeans to China.
