China Placing New US Soybean Orders, USDA’s Vaden Says

The Wall Street Journal’s Patrick Thomas reported that “Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden said he expects China to honor its pledge to buy more American soybeans this year. Vaden said at The Wall Street Journal’s Global Food Forum that China has started placing orders for soybeans that are being planted right now across the U.S.”

“The country pledged to buy 25 million metric tons of soybeans from American farmers’ 2026 harvest as part of its commitment to the Trump administration last fall,” Thomas reported. “China bought 12 million tons of last year’s crop, below its typical 25 million to 30 million tons. Soybean futures have been rising on expectations that China will fulfill its trade commitment to the U.S. and on a larger amount of soybeans being blended into American biofuels.”

China’s US Soybean Imports Doubled in April

Reuters’ Ella Cao and Lewis Jackson reported in mid-May that “China’s soybean imports from the United States in April more than doubled from a year earlier, as cargoes booked after Beijing resumed purchases late last year gradually arrived at Chinese ports.”

“China imported 3.33 million tons of soybeans from the United States in April, up from 1.38 million tons a year earlier, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Wednesday,” Cao and Jackson reported. “Imports from Brazil rose 3.3% year-on-year to 4.75 million tons from 4.6 million tons. Total soybean arrivals climbed 40% in April to 8.48 million tons from a year earlier, although volumes remained below analysts’ expectations of more than 10 million tons.”

“In the first four months, shipments from the United States fell 48% year-on-year to 6.7 million tons, while imports from Brazil jumped 39.6% to 12.7 million tons,” Cao and Jackson reported. “Beijing has so far fulfilled a U.S.-stated pledge to buy 12 million tons of soybeans. Traders said fresh buying is likely to resume from October, when the new U.S. harvest becomes available.”