China, the world's top oilseed buyer, imported 16.17 million tonnes of soybeans in January and February, customs data showed on Tuesday, a 16.1% increase on the same period a year earlier, as buyers stocked up amid tight supplies.
The jump in arrivals came after low imports for most of 2022, although imports had already increased in December.
China's General Administration of Customs adds data for the first two months of the year in time for the week-long Lunar New Year holiday that begins in late January.
Large inflows come as Chinese demand for meat and soymeal, an animal feed ingredient, is expected to rise this year after Beijing abandons strict zero-Covid measures at the end of 2022.
However, arrivals are set to decline in March after a slow start to harvest in Brazil, the world's top producer.
