Today (Sep 11), the market for meals in China is shown as follows:

Soybean meal: U.S. soybean futures closed lower on Thursday. Meal futures pare early losses and expand gains on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange today. Spot soybean meal prices go up 10-30 CNY/tonne at 2,940-3,020 CNY/tonne in coastal regions, in tepid trade. (Tianjin 3020, Shandong 2980-3000, Jiangsu 2940-3000, Dongguan 2950-2980, and Guangxi 2990-3000.) Firm U.S. soybean futures prices lend strong support for import cost and Chinese millers now have a lot of outstanding contracts, owing to a sustained recovery in the breeding sector. But soybean arrivals at domestic ports have been huge and soybean crush also stay stubbornly high, so that millers have to quicken up soybean meal deliveries due to swelling inventories , which still curbs the rises in meal prices. Short-term soybean meal prices will likely swing with an uptrend on concerns over dry weather in the U.S. Corn Belt and global inflation expectation. Buyers are suggested to keep safety stockpiles, but not to chase after excessively high prices. Participants can keep an eye on the USDA monthly report due Friday.

Imported rapeseed meal: U.S. soybean futures ended lower on Thursday. But meal futures in China go up today. And rapeseed meal price in coastal regions settles up 30-40 CNY/tonne at 2,320-2,390 CNY/tonne, seeing a light trading. Rapeseed crush still stays at low levels due to limited rapeseed imports amid tensions between Ottawa and Beijing. In this case, rapeseed meal stocks in coastal areas have fallen for five weeks in a row. And rapeseed meal granule inventories decline by 58% to 25,000 tonnes. Thus, rapeseed meal supply is tightening. Besides, many soybean meal contracts in oil plants remain to be fulfilled, strengthening the overall soybean meal market. And investors take an arbitrage by buying oils and selling meals today. These have together boosted rapeseed meal market. However, the peak season of aquaculture is drawing to a close. Accordingly, the trading in rapeseed meal is not considerable. With large quantity of soybean arriving at ports, soybean crush maintains a high level, limiting rises of rapeseed meal price. Consequently, short-term rapeseed meal price will probably fluctuate to stay strong.

Imported fishmeal: Imported fishmeal prices steady today and can be traded through negotiation. Peruvian Standard SD with 65% protein content is 9,800-9,900 CNY/tonne; Peruvian higher-quality SD with 65% protein content is 10,300 CNY/tonne; Peruvian higher-quality SD with 67% protein content is 10,700-11,200 CNY/tonne; and Peruvian Super Prime SD with 68% protein content is 11,200-11,500 CNY/tonne. New fishmeal cargoes are still arriving at domestic ports this month and of lower cost, so that some traders choose to book profits with favorable prices. However, there is demand from aquaculture in southern regions where high temperatures gradually fade away, so traders are able to ship at a fair pace and become reluctant to sell at low prices, which lends some support to fishmeal market. Overall, domestic fishmeal prices will probably steady with slight declines in the near term.

Stocks at ports: Huangpu 33,000 tonnes, Fuzhou 13,000 tonnes, Shanghai 21,000 tonnes, Tianjin 1,000 tonnes, Dalian 4,000 tonnes, Fangchenggang 1,000 tonnes and 4,000 tonnes at other ports.

FOB quotes from foreign markets today: Oct/Nov shipments are quoted at 1,250 USD/tonne for Peruvian Standard with 65% protein content and at 1,480 USD/tonne for Peruvian super with 68% protein content. Chilean Standard with 65% protein content is quoted at 1,220 USD/tonne, and super with 68% protein content at 1,450 USD/tonne.

Cottonseed meal: Cottonseed meal prices stay stable today. For the moment, the price of cottonseed meal is significantly higher than soybean meal, so feed mills adjust the feed formula due to its lower cost performance compared with soybean meal. Moreover, feed mills are staying on the sideline with the forthcoming marketing of new cottonseed. These have depressed cottonseed meal price. But meal futures on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange move up after low opens and extend the rises, and spot soybean meal in coastal regions increases by 10-40 CNY/tonne. In addition, old cottonseed is pricey, pushing up the cost. Accordingly, factories have intention to prop up price. And livestock breeding is recovering, which may be positive for cottonseed meal market. It is predicted that cottonseed meal market may fluctuate in a narrow range in a short term.

(USD $1=CNY ¥6.84)