A worker shovels soybeans in a harbor in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, January 31, 2014. Photo: IC

At least one soybean cargo defaulted on by Chinese importers was sold by Japan's Marubeni Corp, Reuters reported over the weekend, citing unnamed sources, as slowing demand and tightening credit in the world's top importer hits oilseed trade.

Marubeni is one of the biggest soybean exporters to China, shipping 15 million to 16 million tons a year, or about a quarter of the nation's annual imports of 60 million tons.

One Tokyo-based source with direct knowledge of the situation said Marubeni incurred a loss of $4 million on four to five soybean cargoes which were defaulted on by Chinese buyers as they could not get letters of credit.

One soybean trader in Beijing said Marubeni had supplied cargoes that were defaulted on in China, while an oilseed trade source in Singapore said at least one of the cargoes, which on its way to China, had been sold by Marubeni.

Chinese importers have defaulted on at least 500,000 tons of US and Brazilian soybean cargoes worth around $300 million, the biggest in a decade, as buyers struggle to get credit amid losses in processing beans.

Chinese banks are becoming more selective about who they lend to as the world's second-largest economy slows. A string of defaults on loans, bonds and shadow banking products in recent weeks has highlighted rising credit risks, partly fueled by signs the economy is slowing.