A worker inspects soybeans during the soy harvest near the town of Campos Lindos, Brazil, Feb 18, 2018. BEIJING: China has asked trading firms and food processors to boost inventories of grains and oilseeds as a possible second wave of COVID-19 cases and worsening infection rates elsewhere raise concerns about global supply lines.
A second source in China who was briefed by a person who attended one of the meetings said China's Ministry of Commerce met with some state companies on Tuesday to discuss how to guarantee supplies during the pandemic. Beijing has also increased its allocations of crop import quotas to major grain buyers, paving the way for further potential purchases.
US crop export sales data show that Chinese buyers have accelerated soybean purchases of the upcoming crop, with new crop bookings of 374,000 tonnes already registered, compared with an average of 60,000 tonnes for this period since 2016.