China imported no soybeans from the US in October for the second consecutive month, even as overall purchases hit record levels on increased buying from South America, reports Reuters. Customs data showed imports from the US dropped to zero compared with 541,434 tons a year earlier.

The suspension of US shipments followed Beijing's imposition of steep tariffs earlier this year and the exhaustion of previously harvested US supplies. China remains the world's largest soybean importer.

In contrast, imports from Brazil surged 28.8 per cent year-on-year to 7.12 million tons, accounting for more than three-quarters of China's total soybean arrivals.

Shipments from Argentina also rose, climbing 15.4 per cent to 1.57 million tons, equal to one-sixth of the total, according to customs figures.