China's soybean imports surge in 2008

China imported 37.44 million tons of soybeans last year, 21.5 percent more than that in 2007, China's General Administration of Customs said on Feb 11.

The value of the imported beans totaled $21.8 billion, with a 90.1 percent increase year-on-year and the average price jumped 56.5 percent to $582.7 per ton over previous year.

Imports from the US, Brazil and Argentina accounted for 98.7 percent of the total, the Customs said.

However, as the average price of the imported beans kept falling in the second half, domestic soybeans' market share further shrank as more food processing companies shifted their focus to imported beans.