China's US soybean imports rebound from zero as trade-war deal shipments arrive

China imported 360,878 metric tons of US soybeans in September, up from zero a year earlier, as cargoes purchased under a deal to end last year’s trade war continued to arrive at Chinese ports, customs data published on Tuesday showed.

The rebound marks the first meaningful flow of US beans since trade tensions prompted Chinese buyers to delay purchases of the previous US harvest until after an October summit between the two countries’ leaders. Following that meeting, Beijing purchased around 12 million tons of US soybeans — still well below pre-trade-war levels — and traders told Reuters last week that China had bought more than 60 percent of its 25-million-ton buying target for the 2026/27 marketing year, with shipments beginning in September.

Imports from Brazil, China’s dominant supplier, fell 2.4 percent year-on-year to 10.7 million tons from 10.96 million a year earlier, according to the General Administration of Customs. Total September soybean imports reached 11.88 million metric tons, down 7.7 percent from the same month last year.

Over the first nine months of the year, soybean imports from the US were down 34 percent at 11.06 million tons, while shipments from Brazil rose 3.4 percent to 65.84 million tons. Sources: Reuters.