Taiwanese importers are buying U.S. soybeans in containers through private deals as they are around 10 cents/bushel cheaper than bulk buys, trading executives told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday.

The latest purchases for containerized shipment in October are at a premium of 220 cents a bushel to November soybeans on the Chicago Board of Trade, basis cost and freight.

At 0757 GMT, CBOT soybeans for November were trading 9 cents higher at $16.50 a bushel.

At current prices, Taiwan's purchases are around $687 a metric ton, C&F--up 12% from around $615/ton three months ago.

Latest offers for bulk shipment of U.S. soybeans are 230 cents over the CBOT November contract.

In Brazil, only small volumes of the last crop are now available at more than 400 cents over the CBOT contract, C&F Taiwanese ports.

Taiwan is the third-largest importer of soybeans after China and Japan, buying around 2.4 million tons annually, but the frequency of tenders of the Taichung and Kaohsiung branches of the Breakfast Soybean Procurement Association has slowed down considerably after a surge in prices.

Write to Sameer C. Mohindru at sameer.mohindru@dowjones.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 01, 2012 05:04 ET (09:04 GMT)