China imported 30.82 million tonnes of soybeans in the first 10 months of this year, a growth of 25.6 percent on the same period last year, the General Administration of Customs said on Sunday.

The arrivals were valued at 18.73 billion U.S. dollars, up 120 percent. The dramatic increase is due to higher soybean prices. The imports were priced at 607.70 U.S. dollars per tonne, up 75.1 percent.

Of the total imported soybeans, 56.6 percent, or 17.45 million tonnes, were bought by foreign-funded companies. That is up 10.4 percent.

Brazil, the United States and Argentina were the top three sources of China's soybean imports.

Between January and October, China bought 11.14 million tonnes of soybeans from Brazil, up 18 percent, 10.61 million tonnes from the United States, up 18 percent, and 8.61 million tonnes from Argentina, up 46.6 percent. The three accounted for 98.5 percent of China's total soybean imports.

(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2008)