China Soybeans Impacted
14 07 2008China soybeans (Edamame) from Zhejiang province have been severely damaged by close to 25 days of rain. As a result many of the soy pods have no kernals and those that do have kernals are smaller than normal. The outer skin is blemished more so then normal because of the rains which makes them of little value for the primary market of Edamame for Japan. Some of the pods have an off odor from the excess of rains. The yields from the raw material are running around 45% vs the normal of 65%. As a result of the reduced yields all the packers are bidding on a smaller quantity of raw material driving the price up. As a result of the higher price for the Edamame it is also having a negative impact on the shelled soybeans or Mukimame. Mukimame is the primary import to the USA because of its lower cost point and this item being a by-product of the Edamame.
Little relief is expected in pricing because Fujian province, the other major producer, also experienced a 50% shortfall for the summer crop. Prices are expected to remain firm until autumn crop.
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