By Maximilian Heath and Ella Cao
BUENOS AIRES/BEIJING (Reuters) -U.S. grains trading group Bunge has chartered 30,000 metric tons of Argentine soybean meal cargo destined for China, data seen by Reuters on Monday showed, marking the first such soymeal cargo since Beijing approved Argentine imports in 2019.
Argentina is the world’s largest exporter of soybean meal. China, meanwhile, is the world’s largest importer of soybeans, though does not typically buy soybean meal, rather it processes the beans itself to produce the meal it uses as animal feed.
According to data from local maritime agency NABSA, Bunge will ship the soybean meal from the Terminal 6 facility it operates with Argentina’s AGD in San Lorenzo, north of the farm hub city of Rosario, where the vessel NORDTAJO is expected to dock around July 16 to transport the cargo.
Ship tracking data on LSEG Workspace shows the vessel currently positioned off the west coast of Africa on route to San Lorenzo.
Bunge in Argentina did not respond to a request to comment.
Reuters reported last month that several Chinese animal feed makers had signed a deal for a maiden soymeal shipment as China’s animal feed industry looks to broaden its supply options to mitigate potential disruptions from the U.S.-China trade war.
The shipment is seen as a test case for China, which currently imports hardly any soybean meal. If successful, it could potentially nudge open what has been a largely closed market.
“It is a very important shipment that Bunge is making in July because it implies a real and effective opening of trade,” Gustavo Idigoras, head of Argentina’s CIARA-CEC chamber of oilseed and grains crushers and exporters, told Reuters.
“This should allow for a permanent flow in the future,” he said, adding that Argentine soymeal was “very competitive” in both quality and price compared to local Chinese production.
Most of the soybeans China imports come from Brazil and the United States. Chinese buyers have been scooping up Brazilian soybeans and shunning U.S. exports due to high tariffs imposed amid an ongoing trade war between Beijing and Washington.
In 2024, Argentina exported a total of 27.2 million tons of soybean meal, valued at $10.55 billion. Vietnam was the main destination for shipments, accounting for 15% of the total.
China opened its market to Argentine soymeal in 2019 after years of resistance motivated by a desire to protect its domestic crushing industry. Despite the approval, no purchases of bulk cargoes of Argentine soymeal had been recorded until now, according to Chinese customs data.
(Reporting by Maximilian Heath in Buenos Aires and Ella Cao in Beijing; Writing by Brendan O’Boyle and Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Jane Merriman)