According to Cofeed, in the week as of Apr. 3, details of soybean oil inventories and outstanding contracts in main domestic regions are as follows:

 

As mills are lowering operation rates due to soybean shortages this week (Mar. 28-Apr. 3), soybean crush at domestic mills totals 1,438,400 tonnes (meal 1,136,336 tonnes and oil 273,296 tonnes), down 37,700 tonnes or 2.55% from 1,476,100 tonnes in the previous week. Meanwhile, operation rates (capacity utilization) are 41.43%, down 1.08 percentage points from 42.51% in the previous week. Soybean crush will fall further to around 1.35 mln tonnes next week, but will rise to 1.60 mln tonnes that following week as there will be more soybean cargoes arriving at ports, according to Cofeed.

 

Soybean oil stocks continue to decline this week, as mills are keeping low operation rates and soybean oil shipments have been decent recently. In the week ending Apr. 3, China’s commercial inventory has totaled 1,151,260 tonnes, down 105,000 tonnes by 8.36% from 1,256,270 tonnes last week, down 208,740 tonnes by 15.35% from 1,360,000 tonnes last month, and down 186,940 tonnes by 13.97% from 1,338,200 tonnes of the corresponding period last year. And the five-year average at the same period is 1,130,700 tonnes. 

 

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