China Resumes U.S. Soybean Purchases After Presidential Summit

Chinese state-owned trading companies resumed purchases of U.S. soybeans this week, securing between eight and ten Panamax cargoes. The shipments, estimated at 520,000 to 650,000 metric tons, are scheduled to begin in December. This activity represents the first major trade deals since Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met in Washington in September to discuss trade relations.

China has already purchased approximately 13.7 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans, surpassing half of the 25 million-ton target established by the United States federal government for the 2026/27 marketing year. Despite this progress, uncertainty persists regarding future volume. While the two nations proposed tariff reductions following the September summit, soybeans were excluded from the list, which limits the expected increase in purchases from private Chinese processors.

In tandem with these new imports, the state grain stockpiler Sinograin continues to manage domestic supplies by auctioning existing imported soybean inventories.