The operation rates for soybean crush continue the upward trend this week (Dec. 28-Jan. 3), in spite of the downtime for swollen stocks in some Guangdong mills. The crush at domestic mills totals 2,000,500 tonnes (meal 1,580,395 tonnes and oil 380,095 tonnes), up 1700 tonnes or 0.08% from 1,998,800 tonnes in the previous week. Meanwhile, operation rates (capacity utilization) reach 56.78%, up 0.05 percentage points from 56.73% in the previous week. Soybean crush is predicted to go further higher to around 2.03 mln tonnes next week and then fall down to around 1.92 mln tonnes that following week amid downtime for swollen stocks in some mills. 

 

Soybean crush nationwide is estimated at 808 mln tonnes in December at current utilization rate, above the 7.12 mln tonnes in the previous month and also above 7.60 mln tonnes of the corresponding period last year.  

 

As of this week, soybean crush nationwide totals 22,891,000 tonnes in the crushing year of 2019/20 (from October 1st, 2019), down 11,158,285 tonnes or 4.81% from 24,049,285 tonnes of the same period last year. In calendar year of 2020 (from Jan. 1st, 2020), national soybean crush amounts to 857,357 tonnes, down 40,528 tonnes or 4.51% from 897,885 tonnes of the corresponding period in 2019. 

 

Fig.: Soybean Weekly Crush in China (2016-2020)

 

Details for weekly crush by region and by group are shown as follows: