China Reluctant to Put Ag-Buying Commitments in Contracts: USDA

(Bloomberg) --

Chinese officials told U.S. President Donald Trump that they would buy $40 billion to $50 billion worth of American farm goods but were reluctant to commit to contracts, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says in a Fox Business interview.

• Perdue says it’s a “problem” that China is willing to make commitments behind closed doors but then is slow to agree to contracts

• He adds that outbreak of African swine fever that has killed millions of pigs in Asia won’t significantly boost U.S. food prices, since farmers can increase output to meet rising global demand
• Perdue speaking from conference in Omaha, Nebraska
• NOTE: USDA’s Perdue: China’s Easing on Soybean Tariffs Is Progress
• NOTE: USDA Sees No Difficulty Supplying $50B in Farms Goods to China
• NOTE: U.S. Farm Sales to China May Hit Pre-Trade War Level by Election

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Hirtzer in Chicago at mhirtzer@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Attwood at jattwood3@bloomberg.net

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