<\/p>\n
Scott Bessent<\/p>\n
(Bloomberg) — China\u2019s commitment to buy at least 87 million tons of US soybeans through the next several years provides long-sought relief to farmers, while at the same time highlighting the limitations of America\u2019s reliance on the trading partner for its exports.<\/p>\n
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China has agreed to buy at least 12 million metric tons of US soybeans this season, and a minimum of 25 million tons annually over the next three years, US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a post on X. She added that China would also remove \u201cunwarranted tariffs\u201d on most US agriculture including soybeans.<\/p>\n
Soybean futures rose on the news, settling up 1.2% at $11.0775 a bushel in Chicago.<\/p>\n
The details came after President Donald Trump said China will purchase \u201ctremendous\u201d amounts of American soybeans, following a meeting to hammer out a wide-ranging trade deal with his counterpart Xi Jinping. The president later wrote in a social media post that \u201cfarmers should immediately go out and buy more land and larger tractors.\u201d<\/p>\n
The outcome was welcome news for farmers \u2014 a key voting bloc for Trump and the Republican Party \u2014 who have been grappling with overflowing silos, with profits being squeezed by higher input costs and falling prices. Beijing has shunned US beans so far this export season, using the commodity as a bargaining chip in its trade war with Washington.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think I can stress enough how important this is to farmers because we\u2019ve been waiting and waiting and waiting, and this is a glimmer of hope \u2014 so don\u2019t dash my hopes again,\u201d said Pam Johnson, an Iowa farmer.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Yet even as the agreement restores some optimism, analysts warn that the base numbers merely return trade to previous levels.<\/p>\n
A commitment of 12 million tons for the current season is a \u201cfairly sizable reduction from a historical standpoint,\u201d said Brian Grete, a senior grain and livestock analyst at Commstock. In the longer term, purchases of 25 million tons a year would be \u201cbasically getting back to normal,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Last year, the US exported about 27 million tons to China, according to US Department of Agriculture data. Farmers reaped bigger rewards in the outcome of the trade war during Trump\u2019s first term \u2014 after the so-called Phase One agreement in 2020, shipments to China rebounded to 34.2 million.<\/p>\n
Story Continues <\/p>\n
China, the world\u2019s largest buyer of the oilseed mostly used to make pig and chicken feed, has drastically reduced its reliance on US crop supplies since Trump\u2019s first trade war, leaning more on top producer Brazil to meet its needs. At the same time, China\u2019s appetite for US soybeans may be tempered as the world\u2019s second-largest economy struggles to regain growth momentum, limiting demand for animal feed and food.<\/p>\n
The American Soybean Association noted that the commitments this time around are framed as minimums, and expressed hopes for growth in purchases beyond those levels.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a meaningful step forward to reestablishing a stable, long-term trading relationship that delivers results for farm families and future generations,\u201d Caleb Ragland, president of the ASA, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Farmers and analysts will be watching how quickly shipments will start to flow. Bloomberg reported Wednesday that the country has bought at least two cargoes of US soybeans, its first known purchase this season.<\/p>\n
The fact that Trump still has time in office puts him in position to ensure China remains accountable, said Randy Place, senior grain analyst at the Hightower Report. \u201cStill having a few years left, he can hold them to that this year and next year and maybe the year after.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nebraska farmer Andrew Philips said he was cautiously optimistic, also hoping China follows through with more to come. He was heartened by a recent rally in soybean prices on increased expectations for a trade deal. \u201cStill a ways away from some profitability numbers, but it\u2019s a lot better than where it was,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
April Hemmes, a grower in Iowa, said her phone has been pinging with texts as she chats with others about the details of the deal. She said the commitments wouldn\u2019t prompt her to go out and buy land and tractors, as Trump urged.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur commodity prices haven\u2019t kept up with the inflation of our inputs,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s the real battle we\u2019re looking at here.\u201d<\/p>\n
–With assistance from Skylar Woodhouse.<\/p>\n
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\u00a92025 Bloomberg L.P.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scott Bessent (Bloomberg) — China\u2019s commitment to buy at least 87 million tons of US soybeans through the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":344030,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[133889,3638,28965,64,74,79,5005,18244,8304,67,132,68,169353],"class_list":{"0":"post-344029","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-american-soybeans","9":"tag-bloomberg","10":"tag-brooke-rollins","11":"tag-business","12":"tag-china","13":"tag-economy","14":"tag-president-donald-trump","15":"tag-scott-bessent","16":"tag-trade-war","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-us-agriculture"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115465232376580393","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344029\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}