Today (Oct. 29), the market for meals in China is shown as follows:

 

Soybean meal: US soybeans closed with gains last night on good export inspection data and as trade talks between China and the US were going well. Meal futures continue to decline on the Dalian Commodity Exchange today due to the arbitrage of buying oils and selling meal, yet at a slower pace. Spot soybean meal prices steadily drop by 10-20 yuan/tonne in tepid trading. Specifically, the price settles at 3,020-3,190 yuan/tonne today. (Tianjin 3,190, Shandong 3,130-3,160, Jiangsu 3,080-3,100, Dongguan 3,030-3,040, and Guangxi 3,030-3,080). Some parts of soybean imports now are not for mills, so some mills have to suspend their production due to the shortage in commercial supply from late this month to early next month. The number of sows in breeding has started to rally from the bottom, sending the monthly feed consumption to increase by 10% in September. Soybean meal stocks fall by 3% weekly to 557,000 tonnes now, and some mills in North China are still limiting delivery quantities. The market is predicted to remain strong due to sharply lower estimates for US soybean stocks and the inflation expectation, and there is little room for soybean meal to decline with tight supplies. Buyers can wait for low and stable prices to make appropriate replenishment. 

 

Imported rapeseed meal: Imported rapeseed meal is basically stable in price today, of which it settles at 2,320-2,400 yuan/tonne in coastal areas (Guangxi 2,340, stable; Guangdong 2,400, stable; Fujian not offered). The supply of rapeseed is still tightening under the pending issues between China and Canada. The operation rate rose last week but still stayed at a low level, so rapeseed meal inventory was trending down. Some oil mills have a strong will to raise prices as there is no rapeseed arriving at ports in the late period. However, US soybeans are under the pressure of harvesting and marketing, and African swine fever is still spreading. Also, aquaculture will be fading in the fourth quarter. These are bearish to rapeseed meal price, and short-term prices are likely to stay strong with fluctuations. Buyers are suggested to make proper replenishment on the dips and not to chase up prices too high.

 

Imported fishmeal: Imported fishmeal price are stable today. It is 9,100-9,500 yuan/tonne for Peruvian Standard SD with 65% protein content, 9,400-9,800 yuan/tonne for Thai SD with 67% protein content,9,900-10,100 yuan/tonne for Japanese SD with 67% protein content, and10,100-10,500 yuan/tonne for super SD with 68% protein content. Farmers in North China have already shut down their aquaculture plants and will have weak demand for fishmeal in the short term. Meanwhile, hog feed consumption is also slow due to the influence of the African swine fever. The demand side will continue to subdue the market. But domestic market relies mainly on consuming stocks now as there are few cargoes arriving at ports, and traders have tight supplies and are stalling on the sales, which will be good to the market. Short-term market is predicted to be stable with a strengthening trend. 

 

Stocks at port: Huangpu 96,000 tonnes, Fuzhou 31,000 tonnes, Shanghai 54,000 tonnes, Tianjin 1,000 tonnes, Dalian 8,000 tonnes, Fangchenggang 1,000 tonnes and 4,000 tonnes at other ports. 

 

FOB prices from foreign merchants today: it is 1,110 USD/tonne for Peruvian Standard SD with 65% protein content and 1,310-1,330 USD/tonne for super SD with 68% protein content. Chilean Standard SD with 65% protein content is 1,100 USD/tonne, and super SD with 68% protein content at 1,300 USD/tonne.

 

Cottonseed meal: Cottonseed meal price stays stable with some fluctuations of 10-50 yuan/tonne today. The cottonseed meal market is supported as sow stock begins to rebound from the bottom; the production of pig feed in September increased by 10% from the previous month; factories basically have no inventory of cottonseed meal. But new order is in light trading, and the demand is affected by narrowed price gap between soybean meal and cottonseed meal. In addition, meals on DCE today keep falling back, and spot soybean meal stays stable with a rise of 10-20 yuan/tonne. Therefore, cottonseed meal market is dragged down by all these factors. Short-term cottonseed meal moves sideways with fluctuations, and overall market outlook still stays strong. Hence, buyers are suggested to make proper replenishment on the dips and remain cautious in chasing up prices.