David Lauder and Maya Keidan
CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday China has agreed to buy 12 million tons of U.S. soybeans during the current season through January, up from 22.5 million tons the previous season, after a months-long tariff battle halted all purchases of the current U.S. crop.
China has also committed to buying 25 million tons annually over the next three years as part of a larger trade agreement with Beijing, Bessent said, which would mark a return to normalcy in trade with top soybean importer the U.S., which has bought an average of 28.8 million tons over the past five growing seasons from September to August.
“So our great soybean farmers who have been used as political pawns by the Chinese are not up for debate and they should thrive in the coming years,” Bessent said on Fox Business Network's Mornings with Maria.
Bessent said other Southeast Asian countries have agreed to buy another 19 million tons of U.S. soybeans, but did not specify the timing of those purchases or the countries involved. Asian importers other than China have imported 8 million to 10 million tons annually in recent years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) pared earlier losses to rise 0.9% to $11.04-1/4 a bushel. [GRA/] on Thursday following Bessent's interview.
“These (Chinese purchase agreements) are not unattainable numbers, but they are also not numbers that really support the idea of expanding our U.S. soybean export program,” said Ted Seyfried, chief market strategist at Zaner Ag Hedge.
CHINA DIVERSIFIES SOYBEAN PURCHASES
In the 2024/25 season, the United States exported nearly 25 million tons of soybeans to China.
US President Donald Trump wrote on social media in the evening after meeting with Xi Jinping in South Korea that the Chinese leader had authorized China to begin purchasing large volumes of soybeans, sorghum and other agricultural products.
US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins applauded Trump's comments about soybeans and sorghum in a post on X.
But even Rogers Pei, director of Beijing-based Trivium China, said the agreement effectively represented a return to business as usual for U.S. soybean exports to China.
“It's targeting a level of trade that's pretty much in line with the last few years,” she said.
Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting, said: “Commercial buyers are still waiting for more details on whether China will lower the tariff on US soybeans from 20% to 10% or eliminate it entirely.”
