China buys three U.S. soybean cargoes ahead of Trump-Xi meeting
Reuters reporters Ella Cao and Naveen Thukral wrote that China’s state-owned COFCO has purchased three cargoes of U.S. soybeans, according to two trade sources. These are China’s first buys from the current U.S. soybean harvest, coming just ahead of a meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.
Cao and Thukral noted that during the tariff standoff between the U.S. and China, the decline in Chinese purchases has cost American farmers billions of dollars in lost sales, despite their strong support for Trump in previous elections. While COFCO’s order — about 180,000 metric tons for December–January shipment — marks China’s first such purchase in months, traders do not expect a major rebound in demand, especially after China recently bought large volumes from South America.
“COFCO has gone ahead and purchased U.S. beans even before the two leaders reached a trade agreement,” one international commodity trader said. “The quantities aren’t huge—just three cargoes for now.”
Typically, the U.S. soybean export season peaks between October and January, but China has largely avoided U.S. supplies this year due to the ongoing trade dispute, choosing instead to buy from Brazil and Argentina.
Limited upside expected for U.S. soybean sales
In a separate report, Bloomberg’s Hallie Gu and Alfred Cang wrote that traders had been hopeful an agricultural deal might be reached at the leaders’ summit, pushing soybean futures higher. But they remain skeptical about how much China will actually purchase.
According to those sources:
- It is unclear whether China will agree to buy specific volumes of U.S. soybeans.
- Even if tariffs are reduced, weak soymeal demand in China may make U.S. purchases unprofitable for crushers.
Reuters also reported that China — which accounts for over 60% of global soybean imports — has nearly finished securing supplies from Brazil and Argentina through November, meaning only minimal U.S. buying is likely before Brazil’s next harvest.