
China has eased customs regulations on imports of soybean through some northern border checkpoints, the commerce ministry said, a move that could smooth the way for shipments from neighbours such as Kazakhstan, Russia and perhaps Ukraine.
According to a report at Successful Farming, the changes come as China looks to diversify soybean imports amid trade tension with the United States, its second largest supplier of the oilseed, and could facilitate trade with the neighbouring countries, traders said.
Soybean importers can use one import license to clear cargoes up to six times, if the shipments go through some checkpoints in Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang, the ministry said in a statement dated Dec. 31 and released on its website on Thursday.