"New data the Agriculture Department released Friday created serious doubts about whether China will really buy millions of bushels of American soybeans like the Trump administration touted last month after a high-stakes meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The USDA report released after the government reopened showed only two Chinese purchases of American soybeans since the summit in South Korea that totaled 332,000 metric tons."
"American farmers were hopeful that their biggest customer would resume buying their crops. But CoBank's Tanner Ehmke, who is its lead economist for grains and oilseed, said there isn't much incentive for China to buy from America right now because they have plenty of soybeans on hand that they have bought from Brazil and other South American countries this year, and the remaining tariffs ensure that U.S. soybeans remain more expensive than Brazilian beans."
"Ehmke said that even if China did promise to buy American soybeans it may have only agreed to buy them if the price was attractive. Trump said his team spoke with Chinese officials today and they assured the White House they would be purchasing more soybeans, but he didn't offer any details of how much. "They're in the process of doing not only a little bit but they'll be doing a lot of soybean purchases," he told reporters."
USDA data showed only two Chinese purchases of American soybeans since the summit, totaling 332,000 metric tons. That is far short of the 12 million metric tons cited for January and the 25 million metric tons annually claimed for each of the next three years. CoBank economist Tanner Ehmke said China has little incentive to buy U.S. soybeans because of ample Brazilian supplies and remaining tariffs that keep U.S. beans more expensive. Beijing has confirmed only a consensus to expand farm trade, and President Trump said Chinese officials assured the White House they would buy more soybeans but gave no specifics.
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