Mubasher: China, the world’s largest soybean consumer, cut its oilseed imports from the US by more than 80% year-on-year in September.

Inbound shipments from the US dipped to 132,000 metric tonnes during September from 937,000 tonnes in the same month last year, Bloomberg calculations revealed.

This came as retaliatory tariffs on US soybean shipments, which were imposed within the ongoing trade conflict between the world’s two largest economies, took a heavy toll.

Beijing issued a country-based categorisation of imports for the first time since last March.

For September, China imported the smallest volume of soybean in two years, while inbound shipments are set to plummet 17% year-on-year in the fourth quarter from 20 million tonnes, the China National Grain and Oil Information Center said, adding that this would come as China shuns US soybean imports which incur a 25% duty.