China imported 33 million tons of soybeans from Brazil in the first nine months of 2015, up by 15.3 percent from a year earlier, the Chinese Embassy in Brazil said in a statement.

In September, soybean imports from Brazil amounted to 5.1 million tons, surging by 52.3 percent from the prior-year period, said the statement quoting figures from the Chinese General Administration of Customs.

The embassy said the surge is partly related to the depreciation of the Brazilian currency – the real – that has increased the competitiveness of Brazilian food products in the global market.

The real has depreciated by more than one-third against the U.S. dollar this year as the South American economy is poised to contract in 2015.

China is the biggest importer of soybeans in the world, the Embassy noted.