China's soybean importers are pushing to postpone or cancel cargoes mainly ordered from suppliers in Brazil as they lose money processing the crop into edible oil and animal feed ingredients, said three trade sources.
China, which buys about 60 percent of the soybeans traded worldwide, took advantage of strong crushing profits at the beginning of the year and lower prices following bumper harvests in Brazil to aggressively buy the crop.
But those profits have swung to the biggest losses in nearly three years after China's edible oil markets were flooded with rapeseed oil auctioned from national reserves and by growing imports of other alternative vegetable oils.
"Several importers are trying to delay shipments ... even the big companies are asking shippers to delay," said a soybean trader, declining to be identified as he was not authorized to speak with media.
