BEIJING, Aug 7 (Reuters) - China’s soybean imports fell in July from the same period the previous year, customs data showed on Saturday, as poor crushing margins weighed on demand. The world’s top buyer of the oilseed brought in 8.67 million tonnes of soybeans in July, down 14.1% from 10.09 million tonnes the previous year, data from the General Administration of Customs showed, as sliding hog margins curbed appetite for soymeal. For the first seven months of the year, soybean shipments totalled 57.63 million tonnes, up 4.5% from the same period in the previous year, customs data showed. Chinese crushers bring in soybeans to crush into soymeal to feed the country’s massive livestock herds and make cooking oil. Buyers stepped up purchases of soybeans early in the year, on anticipation of strong demand from a fast recovering pig herd. But soybean demand was expected to slow over the rest of the year, however, analysts and traders said, as falling hog margins and more wheat substitution in feed crimped appetite for soymeal, the major protein source in animal recipe. Crushing margins in Rizhao, Shandong province, a major processing hub in eastern China CNSOY-RZO-MRG hit their lowest levels on record in June this year, before climbing back up. Crushers there still lose more than 200 yuan ($30.96) with each tonne of soybeans processed. Hog margins remained in negative territory at minus 201 yuan per tonne in Heilongjiang, a major pig producer in the northeastern region. JCI-HOGM-HEILJ ($1 = 6.4607 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Hallie Gu and Gabriel Crossley; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.