China has purchased more cargoes of US soybeans, extending a buying spree this week that marks its first acquisitions since the leaders of the two countries held a summit in late September. State-owned companies have booked at least 20 soybean shipments that will be delivered from the US Gulf and Pacific West, according to people familiar with the matter, equivalent to around 1.3 million tons. Cargoes will be mainly loaded from December to March, they said, asking not to be named as they’re not authorized to speak to the media.
The US Department of Agriculture announced 800,000 tons of soybean sales to China in spot reports this week, equivalent to about 12 cargoes, for delivery in the 2026-27 marketing year. The agency also reported the sale of 283,450 tons to unknown destinations, some of which could end up in the Asian nation. Beijing is set to reduce duties on a range of US agricultural products including wheat and corn, according to lists released by the countries after the summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.
The cuts are part of a plan to lower tariffs on about $30 billion of imports from each nation. Soybeans, however, have been left off the duty reduction lists so far and US cargoes coming to China would still incur about 13% tariffs, making the trade unviable for commercial buyers. State-owned firms are largely driving the trade, as Beijing makes steady progress to fulfill a pledge to buy at least 25 million tons of American soybeans annually through 2028.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing