By Bloomberg News

China is considering allowing imports of Brazilian soybean meal as the top pork-consuming nation looks to diversify sources of the key ingredient for pig feed, according to people familiar with the matter.

Chinese officials recently visited crushing plants in Brazil as part of a trip organized by soy processor group Abiove, said the people, who asked not to be identified because talks are private and in early stages. Nobody replied to a fax sent to Chinese customs seeking comment. Abiove declined to comment.

Opening the door to Brazilian meal would follow a similar arrangement with Argentina earlier this month. China has a large amount of soy-crushing capacity and usually prefers to import raw soybeans and process them domestically, but with the ongoing trade war with the U.S., Beijing wants to keep its options open for alternative suppliers.

The move may also help bilateral relations ahead of President Xi Jinping’s visit to Brazil in November for the BRICS Summit and comes at a time when China is expanding its footprint in Latin America. It may also help China’s cause in U.S. trade talks by showing it can source the oilseed and related products elsewhere.

Crushers in Argentina are expected to ship meal to chicken farms, easing concerns about falling demand from the nation’s huge pig herd, which is shrinking because of African swine fever, according to Argentina’s crop export and crushing chamber Ciara-Cec.

Related:China plans to buy more U.S. pork

Still, reduced feed demand from the pork industry as well as pressure to promote the domestic crushing industry are likely to limit China’s meal imports from South America.

--With assistance from Alfred Cang, Jonathan Gilbert and Niu Shuping.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story:

Isis Almeida in Chicago at [email protected];

Steven Yang in Beijing at [email protected]

To contact the editors responsible for this story:

Tina Davis at [email protected]

James Attwood

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