BEIJING, July 20 (Reuters) - China's soybean imports from Brazil edged down in June from a year earlier, customs data showed on Tuesday, as poor crushing margins weighed on demand.
China, the world's top buyer of soybeans, brought in 10.48 million tonnes of the oilseed from top supplier Brazil, slightly down from 10.51 million tonnes the previous year, a record high, according to customs data.
The fall came as Brazilian soybean exports to China slowed as demand in the world's top market weakened on plunging crush margins.
The figures were still up by 14% from 9.23 million tonnes in May, as demand continued to be supported by the country's recovering pig herd, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.
Appetite for the oilseed was not as strong as expected, however, as declining hog margins weighed on demand for soymeal, the main protein in animal feed.
Chinese crushers import soybeans to crush into soymeal to feed livestock, and soyoil for cooking oil.
Meanwhile, China shipped in 54,806 tonnes of soybeans from the United States in June, its second largest soybean supplier, down 80% from 267,553 tonnes in the same month last year.
(Reporting by Hallie Gu and Dominique Patton, editing by Louise Heavens)
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