RTRS-China Jan soy imports down 15 pct vs Dec - customs

BEIJING, Feb 10 (Reuters) - China, the world's top soy buyer, imported 4.61 million tonnes of the oilseed in January, down 15 percent from 5.42 million tonnes in December, as crushers reduced imports during a holiday shutdown, figures from the General Administration of Customs of China showed on Friday.

On an annual basis, soy imports fell 10.2 percent in January, largely due to seasonal factors as the Lunar New Year fell in January this year but in February last year. Soy plants across the country typically close during the week-long holiday.

The seasonal distortion makes the January data particularly hard to read but after stripping away the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, average weekly import volumes in January rose 13 percent from the preceding month.

Demand for soy, used as a cooking oil and feedstock for pigs, typically jumps ahead of festive seasons, but confronted by climbing stocks and a post-holiday demand lull, analysts said imports could weaken in February before rebounding in March as farmers start to restock hogs.

"Global soybean prices are also on the high side, which should prevent China from going all out with imports in the coming weeks," said Ker Chung Yang, an analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.