Today (Feb. 25), the market for meals in China is shown as follows:

Soybean meal: US soybean closed with huge losses last night, and meal futures also open lower to decline on the Dalian Commodity Exchange today. Soybean meal spot prices decline by 10-20 yuan/tonne in tepid trading. Specifically, the price settles at 2620-2800 yuan/tonne today. (Tianjin 2800, Shandong 2720-2830, Jiangsu 2700-2760, Dongguan 2620-2650, and Guangxi 2640-2780.) Currently, oil mills have picked up operation to a normal level, so soybean meal stocks followed to increase by 5% weekly to 360,000 tonnes in the week ending February 21st, with a sharp growth in the south regions. Southern millers are diverting their soybean meal to the northern markets, making prices there fall from the high level. After a round of active replenishment, soybean meal market has gone into the thin trading since last week, which also weighs down the price. However, soybean arrivals at ports are predicted to be only 4.90 mln tonnes in March. And some mills will likely suspend production for soybean shortages, of which almost all mills in Shandong have made a downtime plan in March. In addition, mills now have no spot goods for sales. And the central government has expanded the range on subsidies and discounted loans to cover more hog farms, which will stimulate middle and small farms to recover hog production. Meanwhile, soybean meal consumption has also quickened up as feed enterprises resume work. In the near term, soybean meal market may follow futures to fluctuate at a narrow range to adjust. Buyers out of stock can wait for low and stable prices to make appropriate replenishment. 

Imported rapeseed meal: Imported rapeseed meal stays stable with slight declines in price today, of which it partly settles down 10 yuan/tonne at 2,180-2,330 yuan/tonne in coastal areas (Guangxi 2,200, down 20; Guangdong not offered; Fujian 2,240, down 30). Most soybean oil mills have resumed the operation, and weekly soybean crush has recovered to a higher level of 1.8 mln tonnes in recent weeks. Besides, the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak has resulted in a hard hit in catering and tourism, thereby affecting meats consumption. Also, the demand from aquaculture has been in a slack season, so the demand outlook is worrisome. Moreover, the stocks of soybean meal and rapeseed meal both increased last week, limiting meals price. But rapeseed is in short supply amid continuous tensions between China and Canada, so oil mills reduce the operation rate, which limits the price declines of rapeseed meal. Accordingly, short-term rapeseed meal price is likely to fluctuate at a narrow range. And buyers can wait and see.

Imported fishmeal: Imported fishmeal prices are stable today and can be traded through negotiation. Peruvian Standard SD with 65% protein content is 12,000-12,200 yuan/tonne; Peruvian higher-quality SD with 65% protein content is 12,200-12,500 yuan/tonne; Peruvian higher-quality SD with 67% protein content is 12,800-13,000 yuan/tonne; and Peruvian Super Prime SD with 68% protein content is 13,200-13,300 yuan/tonne. The epidemic has gradually been under control in China, although it has yet come to an end. Several traders have received fresh goods at ports, and logistics are also in the recovery, so fishmeal shipment will hopefully quicken its pace. This is positive to the market. However, the consumption of fishmeal is slack at present, and the demand remains dismal. On the whole, the market is predicted to keep steady in the short term. Stocks at port: Huangpu 57,000 tonnes, Fuzhou 29,000 tonnes, Shanghai 32,000 tonnes, Tianjin 1,000 tonnes, Dalian 10,000 tonnes, Fangchenggang 1,000 tonnes and 4,000 tonnes at other ports. FOB quotes from foreign merchants today: It is quoted steadily at 1,430 USD/tonne for Peruvian Standard with 65% protein content and 1,730 USD/tonne for Peruvian super with 68% protein content. Chilean Standard with 65% protein content is unchanged at 1,400 USD/tonne, and super with 68% protein content at 1,700 USD/tonne.

Cottonseed meal: Cottonseed meal prices are mostly not offered today. Partial prices keep steady with individual decrease of 80 yuan/tonne. The demand for cottonseed meal is limited by an inversion of price spread between soybean meal and it. Besides, the demand for meats has affected by novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak, thereby the demand outlook of meals is also worrisome. Besides, meals on Dalian Commodity Exchange drop further today, and spot soybean meal declines by 20-30 yuan/tonne. Consequently, these are causing cottonseed meal price to continue to recede from highs. But the overall operation rate of oil mills stays at a low level now. And cottonseed meal inventories are low. Therefore, the price declines of cottonseed meal are limited temporarily, and short-term market is predicted to fluctuate to adjust. With crush enterprises resuming the production successively, there is a risk of dropping in cottonseed meal prices.