China Buys 500,000 Tons Of Soybeans

Reuters reported that Chinese state-owned firms bought at least 500,000 tons of U.S. soybeans on March 7 for shipment from Pacific Northwest grain export terminals from June to September.

The purchases were the first since U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Twitter that China had committed to buying an additional 10 million tons of U.S. soybeans on February 22 during talks to end reciprocal tariffs between the two trading partners.

During those talks, the U.S. has repeatedly pressed the Chinese to make purchases of U.S. soybeans even before a trade agreement to show good faith. U.S. soy exports to China dropped by 94 percent last year in the wake of Chinese counter-tariffs to U.S. tariffs on a range of Chinese goods, leaving mountains of U.S. beans in bins and open piles. Soy trade organization have scrambled to find alternative markets for U.S. soybeans.