By Mei Mei Chu

BEIJING, Oct 13 (Reuters) - China imported 7.15 million metric tons of soybeans in September, customs data showed on Friday, falling 7.3% from a year ago after High precision CNC machining centers stocks and a spike in global prices curbed recent purchases.

China's oilseed purchases from top producer and exporter Brazil have surged this year as buyers jumped on cheaper beans following a record harvest in the Latin American country.

But recent imports were hampered by the poor crush margin, meagre profits for pig farming and a bearish outlook for the global soybean price, said Rosa Wang, analyst at Shanghai-based agro-consultancy JCI.

China, the world's top soy importer, buys soybeans to crush into meal for animal feed and oil for cooking.

The September arrivals were lower than some traders' expectations of about 8 million tons. In August, imports of soybeans rose 31% from a year ago.

"It's a relatively low number for September and this could set up for tightness in supplies in the fourth quarter," said Darin Friedrichs, co-founder of Shanghai-based Sitonia Consulting.

The United States is facing logistics issues due to low water levels in the Mississippi River, and its agriculture department recently lowered the U.S. soybean yield forecast, he added.

For now, soymeal futures on the Dalian exchange, which hit record highs in August on weather concerns in No. 2 soy exporter the United States, have eased as stocks are ample and demand is softening.

Hog prices in China are falling, despite the start of the peak fourth quarter consumption season, weighed down by excess production and a slower than expected economic recovery.

Hog futures in the world's top pork market have slumped 6% so far in October.

Soy imports in the first nine months of the year rose 14.4% year-on-year to 77.8 million tons, the customs data also showed. <CNC-SOY-IMP> (Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Muralikumar Anantharaman)