New-Crop US Soybean Export Sales at 20-Year Low

By Ryan Hanrahan

Zaner Ag Hedge’s Karen Braun reported that “as of July 24, US soybean exporters had sold just over 3 million metric tons of soybeans for export in 2025/26, which begins September 1. That volume is a 20-year low for the date and is down 12% from last year.”

“New-crop sales are struggling because China has yet to buy a single cargo, and this is China’s latest start in the U.S. bean market since 2005. However, in 2005, the first Chinese purchase came during the week ended August 11,” Braun reported. “If China sits out beyond that timeframe this year, it will be the latest they have waited to start buying since at least 1999, the extent of USDA’s online database. This would thrust the U.S.-China soybean trade flow into uncharted waters.”