BEIJING, Sept 20 (Reuters) - China's soybean imports

from Brazil climbed 2.4% in August from a year earlier, as

buyers sought to boost inventories to mitigate supply disruption

risks in the fourth quarter.

    The world's top soybean buyer imported 10.49 million metric

tons from Brazil last month, accounting for 85.4% of the total

imports of the oilseed, customs data showed on Saturday.

    August marked another month this year in which China's

soybean imports have hit record highs for the month, following

May, June and July. CNC-SOY-IMP

    August arrivals from the U.S. stood at 227,205 tons, up

12.3% a year earlier.

    For January-August, China imported 52.74 million tons from

Brazil, down 2.0% year-on-year, while shipments from the U.S.

totalled 16.8 million tons, up 30.9%, the data showed.

    Imports of U.S. soybeans have surged due to a delayed

Brazilian harvest, which extended the U.S. export window, and

due to prolonged customs clearance times in the early months of

the year, analysts have said.

    Beijing has, however, yet to book any soybean shipments from

the new U.S. crop.

    The shift since 2017 away from U.S. supplies - exacerbated

by U.S.-Sino trade tensions - has raised concern among American

farmers, who are entering the autumn harvest season facing weak

crop prices.

    In response, Republican farm-state lawmakers are urging

President Donald Trump's administration to issue economic aid

for farmers by the year's end.

    Meanwhile, Brazil's overall soybean exports are expected to

remain strong. On Wednesday, Brazilian grain exporters'

association ANEC projected September exports to reach 7.53

million metric tons, slightly above last week's estimate of 7.43

million tons.

    Brazil's crop agency Conab on Thursday projected the South

American country's 2025/26 soybean harvest at a record 177.67

million metric tons in 2026, up 3.6% from the previous year.

    China imported 1.05 million tons of soybeans from Argentina

in August, down 18.6% from a year earlier. January-August

soybean imports from the country reached 1.72 million tons, up

6.2% from the same period last year.

(Reporting by Ella Cao and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Edwina

Gibbs)

((Ella.Cao@thomsonreuters.com;))