According to a Cargonave shipping agency report released Wednesday, May 15, soybean exports from Brazil to China, which is the largest market, for the first four months of 2019 fell by 13% compared to last year.

Soybean exports to China from January to the end of April amounted to 20.07 million tons for the same period a year earlier, the report said.

In the first four months of this year, Brazil shipped a total of 27.6 million tons of soybeans in all directions against 29.74 million tons last year. China's share in total export purchases fell from 77.6% in 2018 to 72.8% in the same period.

Brazilian soybeans exported sharply to China last year as Chinese importers replaced goods with higher tariffs as a result of the trade war between the US and China, but the outbreak of African swine fever in China affected the demand for soybeans, which are mainly used as feed for animals.

The easing of tensions in early 2019 also led to the United States sending some of its soybean stocks to China.

Among the commodity traders exporting soybeans from Brazil, the largest by volume in the first quarter of this year is Cargill, which loaded 4.3 million tons, followed by Bunge and Louis Dreyfus in third place.