With no US trade deal, China continues Brazil pivot for soybean supply
China slashed its soybean imports from the United States while increasing shipments from Brazil in July, a move that further reorients its supply from the world’s top producer even as American farmers press Washington to negotiate for larger purchases of the crop in a hypothetical trade agreement.
Last month, China imported 420,873 tonnes of soybeans from the US, down 11.47 per cent from a year earlier, according to a Wednesday data release by the General Administration of Customs in Beijing.
Imports from Brazil jumped 13.92 per cent year on year to 10.39 million tonnes in July, in stark contrast to the decline in US shipments.
Overall, China’s soybean imports rose 18.39 per cent year on year to 11.67 million tonnes in July, with Brazil accounting for nearly 90 per cent of its supply. The US’ share stood at just under 4 per cent.
In the first seven months of the year, China imported 61.03 million tonnes of soybeans, up 4.63 per cent from the year prior, with nearly 70 per cent sourced from Brazil and just over a quarter from the US.
One of the US’ most important agricultural exports, soybeans have been a point of leverage at a fraught time for bilateral relations. China relies heavily on imports for its supply, primarily used as animal feed and cooking oil.
Soybeans became a bargaining chip again earlier this year, when Beijing imposed a 10 per cent tariff on US soybeans in March in retaliation for Washington’s 10 per cent levy on all Chinese goods, enacted over Beijing’s purported role in the proliferation of the drug fentanyl.
With the harvest season approaching, the American Soybean Association (ASA) trade group urged Trump on Tuesday to strike a deal with China to secure purchase agreements, warning that US farmers “cannot survive a prolonged trade dispute” with their largest customer as prices fall and financial stress deepens.
The ASA noted that China has not yet lodged pre-orders for the coming harvest. In the US, the crop is typically harvested between September and November.
“China has contracted with Brazil to meet future needs to avoid purchasing any soybeans from the United States,” the association said.
However, Trump wrote on social media in early August that he hoped China would “quickly quadruple its soybean orders”, calling it a step towards “substantially reducing” the enormous trade deficit.
Last year, China imported 105 million tonnes of soybeans, with 22.14 million tonnes coming from the US. This accounted for 21.1 per cent of the total, 13.3 percentage points lower than the figures from 2018.
Meanwhile, China’s imports from Brazil reached 74.65 million tonnes last year, accounting for 71.1 per cent, according to customs data.
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