CHICAGO Private exporters sold 192,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to China, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday, the first confirmed sales of U.S. oilseeds to the world’s top soy consumer since July 27.
The sales come amid rising political tensions between Washington and Beijing. Senior U.S. and Chinese officials will review the implementation of their Phase 1 trade deal and likely air mutual grievances in an increasingly tense relationship during an Aug. 15 video conference, two people familiar with the plans said on Tuesday.
Under the Phase 1 deal signed in January, China had pledged to boost purchases of U.S. goods by some $200 billion over 2017 levels, including agricultural and manufactured products, energy and services.
China has stepped up its purchases of U.S. grains and oilseeds in recent weeks. Since July 10, the USDA has reported that China bought nearly 5.2 million tonnes of U.S. corn, along with nearly 2.5 million tonnes of soybeans and 320,000 tonnes of hard wheat.
Still, battered by the global coronavirus recession, China is far behind the pace needed to meet its first-year goals under the Phase 1 deal. Imports of farm goods have lagged behind the 50% increase needed to meet the 2020 target of $36.5 billion.
The United States exported just $7.274 billion in agricultural goods to China in the first half of the year, according to U.S. Census Bureau trade data. Exports of soybeans, which typically account for about half of China’s U.S. farm imports, were just below $1.4 billion at midyear.
Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures turned lower after the USDA confirmed the latest soybean sale to China, with the benchmark November contract down 1-3/4 cents at $8.80 per bushel by 9:12 a.m. CDT (1412 GMT).
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