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China buys India meal,14-15 cargoes of US soybeans

SINGAPORE: China has signed deals to buy two small cargoes of Indian soymeal for low prices in addition to some 14-15 panamax cargoes of U.S. soybeans purchased after the Lunar New Year celebration, traders said on Monday.

They said the deals were for a cargo of 20,000 tonnes and another of 15,000 tonnes of Indian soymeal for prompt to March shipments. They were to pay $202 per tonne C&F, China for one cargo and $203 for another.

It was unclear how China got such low prices for Indian soymeal, which were offered at $210-$213 per tonne, C&F Southeast Asia on Monday.

Driven by rising soymeal prices, China has been an aggressive buyer of U.S. soybeans over the past few weeks.

Traders here estimated 14-15 panamax cargoes of U.S. soybeans had been traded for February to March shipments for $215-$219 per tonne, C&F China.

"This is meal-driven demand for beans. Meal prices are shooting up to the roof," said one trader. "There's a shortage of meal, and sentiment has improved. It's no longer as gloomy as last year."

He said Chinese soymeal was now offered at around 2,050 yuan per tonne, compared with around 2,002 yuan last week and between 1,700-1,800 yuan in December.-Reuters