Rapeseed Imports by Japan Set for Record on Soy Substitution

Japan, Asia’s second-largest soybean buyer, is poised to boost rapeseed imports to a record as a rally in Chicago futures spurred oilseed crushers to seek alternative supplies from Canada and Australia.

Purchases will probably climb to 2.4 million metric tons this year, surpassing the 2.3 million-ton record set in 2010, Yoshinori Komura, managing director at Japan Oilseed Processors Association, said in an interview. Soybean imports may drop 4.6 percent to 2.7 million tons, the lowest in 43 years, according to the Japan Oil & Fat Importers & Exporters Association.