Soybean Photo: VCG

Chinese Customs’ revising soybean import data for the January-February period last year was caused by a technical issue, and the change would provide more accurate statistics, officials from the China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC) said on Tuesday.

The GAC revised soybean imports for the first two months last year to 14.29 million tons, from the initially published volume of 16.17 million tons, according to a Reuters report.

In response to the change, vice administrator of the GAC Wang Lingjun said the data revision is caused by a technical issue which reflects more accurate statistics. 

"Trade data revision is a common practice globally, which is also common in countries including the US. In some cases there are much bigger adjustments," Wang said. 

Wang said that the reasons for the adjustment include some companies updating their declarations due to changes and corrections in their trading activities, which will affect the original data.

“China’s trade statistics are based on the administrative records declared by companies. Any changes in trade activities leading to modifications or cancellations in trading, or errors in declared elements, will affect our original data and result in data revisions,” Wang said.

In 2023, China imported 160 million tons of grain, up 11.7 percent from the previous year. Soybean imports came at 99.41 million tons, making up over 60 percent of all grain imports, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Soybean imports help meet the demand for vegetable oil and animal feed. China’s ongoing efforts to expand soybean cultivation area has taken effect and boosted self-sufficiency levels, the ministry officials said.