By Ryan Hanrahan
Bloomberg’s Hallie Gu reported that “China has purchased more cargoes of US soybeans, extending a buying spree this week that marks its first acquisitions since the leaders of the two countries held a summit in late September.”
“State-owned companies have booked at least 20 soybean shipments that will be delivered from the US Gulf and Pacific West, according to people familiar with the matter, equivalent to around 1.3 million tons,” Gu reported. “Cargoes will be mainly loaded from December to March, they said, asking not to be named as they’re not authorized to speak to the media.”
Reuters’ Ella Cao and Naveen Thukral reported that “the purchases helped ease concerns after China had largely stayed out of the market for weeks, partly because of the prolonged National Day holiday, with the return of state buyers seen as a sign of continued demand.”
“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,” Cao and Thukral reported. “That 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 totalling around 15 million tons.”
State-owned buyers have largely been the ones making the purchases, as U.S. soybeans have not been cost competitive for private buyers. And that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.
Source : illinois.edu