China's April Soybean Imports Down 12%

China's April Soybean Imports Down 12%

• China sourced 5.9 million tonnes of soybeans from Brazil in April, up 2.6% from 5.8 million tonnes last year.
• China bought 665,591 tonnes of soybeans from the U.S. in April, down 62% from 1.75 million tonnes in the same month a year earlier.
• China’s total April soybean imports fell 12% to 6.7 million tonnes from last year.
• China's soybean and soymeal inventories fell to historical lows as a result, forcing some crushers to curb production.

FBN’s Take On What It Means:中国敦促州和私人进口商扩大包括大豆在内的主要农作物的供应，为全球大流行的进一步破坏做准备。上周晚些时候，尽管美国/中国的政治紧张局势加剧了，但中国贸易官员重申了该国在第一阶段贸易协议下履行其义务的承诺。但是，上周出口商没有报告大量购买，这可能会在中国购买的增加情况下增加更多的增加，以帮助维持大豆价格的反弹。

Biofuel Trade Group Asks Administration to Deny Retroactive Waiver Requests

• An earlier court decision has created uncertainty over the status of the large number of waivers that the administration's EPA has issued in recent years.
• The ruling mandates that any exemptions to blending laws granted to small refineries after 2010 must take the form of an "extension."
• The Energy Department stated the EPA has asked them to review waiver requests from refiners covering past years.

FBN’s Take On What It Means:Refiners’ petitions for waivers in past years comes at time when the biofuel industry is just starting to recover from intense demand destruction due to the coronavirus epidemic, and continues to put two of the administration’s key supporters against each other. Corn use for ethanol production accounts for nearly 40% of annual US corn demand, and fuel blending requirements are not expected to change much from previous years. Any waivers that can impact ending stocks which are already seen as burdensome would be unwelcome.

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—Kevin McNew