Bunge, a top soyabean processor, has reduced the size of its pipeline of the oilseed flowing to China, the world's top importer, after overestimating demand late last year, chief executive Soren Schroder said.
The decision to scale back shipments illustrates the impact of China's slowing economy on one of the largest agricultural trading houses.
Bunge typically had supplies headed to China from producers such as Brazil to keep crushing plants supplied, "like a floating conveyor belt", Schroder said on Thursday.
However, in late December the company suffered a US$30 million loss as the value of soyabeans being delivered to China in its inventory pipeline dropped below what it had paid, he said.
Bunge mistakenly had expected an increase in demand, Schroder added after the company reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings.
We misjudged demand and the timing of it by a couple of percentage points
"We're scaling back on the size of the pipeline that we have flowing into China to reduce the risk of it, so we don't have things like what just happened happen again," he said.