China’s Imports of U.S. Soybeans Jump to Highest Since April

(Bloomberg) --

China imported 1.68 million tons of U.S. soybeans in August, the most in four months, before top negotiators from the two countries meet in October in a further attempt to resolve their trade dispute.

• China’s August purchases compare with 912,000 tons in July and 265,378 tons in August 2018.

Key Insights

• Chinese companies could boost U.S. soybean purchases to meet a potential supply gap in the fourth quarter. Some companies received waivers to buy the commodity without paying retaliatory tariffs.
• Any progress in trade talks could lead China to purchase more beans.
• Still, the purchases may not be enough to cut U.S. soy inventories significantly as American farmers are set to harvest their crop.

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• China bought 6.68 million tons of soybeans from Brazil, the country’s largest supplier in August, up from 6.42 million tons in July.
• Imports from Argentina in August were 655,000 tons, down from 1.07 million tons in July.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Niu Shuping in Beijing at nshuping@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anna Kitanaka at akitanaka@bloomberg.net, James Poole

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With assistance from Bloomberg