Desk Report,
Trump calls on China to buy four times as much soybeans from the US
US President Donald Trump has called on China to increase its purchases of soybeans from the United States. His call is for China to increase its purchases of soybeans from the United States fourfold.
Trump calls on China to buy four times as much soybeans from the US
Donald Trump made this call before the end of the tariff war between the two countries. The price of soybeans in the Chicago market has increased due to his call, although analysts are skeptical about the implementation of this call.
Late Sunday night, Trump wrote on his own social media, Truth Social, that China is concerned about the shortage of soybeans. He hopes that in this reality, China will soon quadruple its purchases of soybeans from the United States. Trump also said that if China wants to do that, it will be provided with services quickly. He also thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping in advance.
After Trump’s post, the price of the most traded soybeans on the Chicago Board of Trade rose by $10.11 per bushel, or 2.38 percent, on Monday. Previously, the price of that soybean had remained stable.
China buys the most soybeans from the world market. China imported about 105 million metric tons of soybeans last year. About a quarter of that came from the United States, with the rest coming mainly from Brazil. If China’s soybean purchases quadruple, most of them would have to come from the United States.
Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based Ageradar Consulting, said it was unlikely that China would buy that much soybeans from the United States.
The deadline for a truce in the tariff war between Beijing and Washington ends on August 12. Although the Trump administration has indicated that the deadline may be extended, it is not clear whether increased soybean purchases from the United States are a condition for this extension. Donald Trump’s main goal is to reduce the trade deficit with China.
Meanwhile, the price of Chinese soybean futures (forward trading) fell 0.65 percent to 3,068 yuan per metric ton on the possibility that China’s soybean imports from the United States could increase. China’s Commerce Ministry has not yet responded to Reuters’ request for comment.
China pledged to increase purchases of U.S. agricultural products, especially soybeans, in the first phase of the trade deal signed during Trump’s first term. However, Beijing has not met that target.
Not only that, but China did not buy U.S. soybeans in the fourth quarter of last year, despite the trade tensions between Washington and Beijing this year. The U.S. harvest season is coming up. As a result, their concerns are growing.
Meanwhile, Beijing’s talks have indicated that it may not buy U.S. soybeans this year. The country has bought a test shipment of soybean meal from Argentina. That is why it is assumed that. Trivium China agricultural analyst Evan Rogers Pei said this.
A previous Reuters report said that Chinese animal feed manufacturers have bought three cargoes of soybean meal from Argentina. The purchase is mainly aimed at securing cheap supplies from South America. There is also a risk of disruption to soybean supplies in the fourth quarter of the year.
The US soybean industry is looking for alternative buyers, but no country is as competitive as China. Last year, China imported 22.13 million or 22 million tonnes of soybeans from the US and 74.65 million or 74.66 million tonnes from Brazil.
