Cargo Shortage Claims – Soybean Cases

Background

China, the world's biggest soy buyer, imported a record volume of soybeans in 2013 as the crushing industry continued to expand capacity to meet rising domestic demand for food oil and protein. According to General Administration of Customs, China imported 63.38 million tons of soy in 2013, a rise of 8.6 percent from 2012.

United States is China's biggest soy supplier followed by Brazil and Argentina. The soy trade across the Pacific creates huge logistic demand. It needs more than 1,000 Handysize and Handymax ships, the most widely used bulk carrier with a DWT range from 35,000 to 60,000 tons, to carry those cargos from America to Chinese coast.

In the past decades, we have handled many cases where the cargo receivers claim for short delivery. And Chinese maritime courts have developed different opinions regarding how to decide upon those claims.