Key facts
- China purchased 8-10 U.S. soybean cargoes this week.
- These are the first U.S. soybean purchases by China since the September Trump-Xi summit.
- Shipments are scheduled from December onwards.
- State-owned trading firms made the purchases.
- Premiums paid were $3.10 to $3.20 per bushel over the January CBOT soybean contract.
- Each cargo contains approximately 65,000 metric tons of soybeans.
Chinese state buyers purchased 8-10 Panamax cargoes of U.S. soybeans this week, marking the first such deals since the September summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Washington, three trade sources told Reuters. The cargoes are for shipment from December onwards.
The market had been awaiting signs of renewed Chinese buying after a weeks-long hiatus, partly due to weak demand during China's National Day holiday earlier this month. The purchases were made by state-owned trading firms, who paid premiums of $3.10 to $3.20 per bushel over the January Chicago Board of Trade soybean contract, according to one trader.
Each Panamax cargo carries around 65,000 metric tons of soybeans. Before these latest deals, China had bought about 13.7 million tons of U.S. soybeans, more than halfway towards its 25 million-ton purchase target for the 2026/27 marketing year announced by the White House. On Tuesday, Sinograin sold 40.5% of the 518,000 tons of imported soybeans offered at auction, with traders expecting further auctions. China imported 11.88 million tons of soybeans in September, down 7.7% from the same month last year.