According to Cofeed, in the week as of March 27th, details of soybean oil inventories and outstanding contracts in main domestic regions are as follows:

 

As operation rates pick up slightly this week (Mar. 21-27), soybean crush at domestic mills totals 1,476,100 tonnes (meal 1,166,119 tonnes and oil 280,459 tonnes), up 89,500 tonnes or 6.45% from 1,386,600 tonnes in the previous week. Meanwhile, operation rates (capacity utilization) are 42.51%, up 2.66% from 39.85% in the previous week. Soybean crush will continue to rise fractionally next week to around 1.50 mln tonnes, and then it will fall again to 1.39 mln tonnes that following week for soybean shortages. Soybean meal supply will remain tight in the next few weeks under low-level soybean crush.

 

Soybean oil stocks continue to decline, as mills are keeping low operation rates and soybean shipments have been decent recently. In the week ending March 27th, China’s commercial inventory has totaled 1,256,270 tonnes, down 65,260 tonnes by 4.94% from 1,321,530 tonnes last week, down 28,230 tonnes by 2.20% from 1,284,500 tonnes last month, and down 103,730 tonnes by 7.63% from 1,360,000 tonnes of the corresponding period last year. And the five-year average at the same period is 1,156,000 tonnes. 

 

Fig.: China’s Soybean Oil Stocks in Recent Years