BEIJING, CHINA — As Brazilian shipments slow and South American harvests near end, China’s August soybean imports decrease compared to July, Reuters reported citing customs data.

China imported 9.6 million tonnes of soybeans in August, a dip of 4.6% from 10.09 million tonnes in July.

The country’s August 2020 soybean imports were up 1% compared to 9.48 million tonnes in August 2019, Reuters reported.

Xie Huilan, analyst with agriculture consultancy Cofeed, told Reuters, “Soybean arrivals were expected to fall a little in the coming months as there would be fewer cargoes coming from Brazil.”

Brazil and South American soybean imports to China pushed by good prices.

But the increase of these imports has hampered China’s purchases pledges to fulfill the phase one trade agreement with the United States. Chinese crushers are being challenged by the increased soybean stocks arriving from South America.

China’s soybean imports for the first eight months of the year totaled 64.74 million tonnes, a 15% jump compared to the previous year, Reuters reported.