China State Buyers Purchase 10-13 More Cargoes of US Soybeans in Post-Summit Buying Spree
Key Takeaways
- •Chinese state-owned trading firms bought 10-13 Panamax cargoes of US soybeans overnight, marking the second major acquisition round since the September Trump-Xi meeting.
- •The newly purchased cargoes are scheduled for shipment between December and March.
- •This week's combined purchases amount to 18-23 cargoes, or roughly 1.2-1.5 million metric tons, on top of the 8-10 cargoes booked Tuesday that the USDA largely confirmed.
- •China's US soybean purchases now total around 15 million tons, leaving approximately 10 million tons to reach the White House's 25-million-ton target for the 2026/27 marketing year.
- •The return of state buyers eased concerns after several weeks of Chinese absence from the market, partly attributed to the prolonged National Day holiday.
BEIJING/SINGAPORE — Chinese state buyers purchased 10-13 Panamax cargoes of US soybeans overnight, the second large-scale batch of acquisitions since US President Donald J. Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in September, three trade sources told Reuters on Thursday.
The cargoes, bought by state-owned trading firms, are scheduled for shipment between December and March, the sources added.
The overnight buying followed an earlier round this week. Reuters reported on Wednesday that Chinese state buyers had booked 8-10 cargoes of US soybeans on Tuesday, and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) later confirmed most of those sales in its daily export sales announcement.
The renewed activity helped ease concerns after China had largely stayed out of the market for several weeks, partly because of the prolonged National Day holiday. The return of state buyers has been seen as a sign of continued demand from Beijing — and, by extension, of progress toward the 25-million-ton purchase target set out by the White House.
Combined, this week's purchases amount to 18-23 cargoes, or roughly 1.2-1.5 million metric tons of US soybeans, according to Reuters calculations. A Panamax bulk carrier typically carries about 60,000-65,000 tons of grain, consistent with the reported cargo totals.
The buying brings China a step closer to meeting the 25-million-ton purchase target announced by the White House for the 2026/27 marketing year, with purchases so far now totaling around 15 million tons — leaving roughly 10 million tons still to be booked toward that goal. Any further acquisitions would be confirmed through the same USDA daily export sales announcements that verified most of Tuesday's round. The US soybean marketing year runs from September 1 to August 31.
Soybeans have historically ranked among the largest US agricultural exports to China and have repeatedly served as a focal point in trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing. China is the world's soybean importer, with the United States and Brazil serving as its two principal suppliers.
— Reuters
Source: BusinessWorld Online
