China to release soybean stocks through auction from March 14

The soybean outright price for CFR China first-month assessment continued to reach new highs, climbing to $773.91/mt in the Platts assessment by S&P Global Commodity Insights March 9, up 2% on the day, fueled by rising Chicago Board of Trade futures and freight costs.

Overnight, the freight rate of route from Brazil to North China for April shipment continued to rise, at $77-78/mt, up by $2-3/mt day on day.

One US PNW cargo of June shipment was reported traded at 350 cents/bu over May(K), basis CFR North China. The trade value was normalized for quality and voyage time to 380 cents/bu over May(K) for Brazil May shipment, which is 10 cents/bu cheaper than Brazil cargo of May shipment offered at 390 cents/bu over May(K).

State-owned Chinese importer Sinograin will start to release soybean stocks as part of its strategic stocks-rotation, starting March 14.

At 13:30 pm, March 14, some 296,000 mt of soybeans will be auctioned online through the official website of National Grain Trade Center. More rounds of auctions for stocks release may be revealed in the future.

"This news will make buyers less active to check CFR China basis for nearby shipments," shared by a Chinese crusher who wanted to wait for more information about total volume of soybeans being released by the state before buying soybeans from the CFR market.

However, the current volume seems to be insignificant to help to tame the skyrocketing soybean prices in China as it is lower than expected volume of 700,000 mt per week, another Chinese buyer said.