China buys 8-10 US soybean cargoes in first big deals since Trump-Xi summit

Why it matters

Chinese state buyers purchased 8-10 Panamax cargoes of US soybeans this week, the first such deals since the September summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Washington, three trade sources told Reuters on Wednesday. The cargoes are for shipment from December onwards. Each Panamax cargo carries around 65,000 metric tons, putting the week's business at roughly 520,000 to 650,000 tonnes. The companies paid premiums of $3.10 to $3.20 per bushel over the January Chicago Board of Trade soybean contract, one of the traders said.

The market had been awaiting signs of renewed Chinese buying after a weeks-long hiatus, partly because of weak demand during the country's week-long National Day holiday earlier this month. After the September summit, China and the US announced a proposed list of tariff reductions that excluded soybeans, dampening expectations that private crushers would return to the market for additional US supplies. Before the latest deals, China had bought about 13.7 million tons of US soybeans, already more than halfway towards its 25 million-ton purchase target for the 2026/27 marketing year announced by the White House.

On Tuesday, Sinograin sold 40.5% of the 518,000 tons of imported soybeans offered at auction, data from consultancy Mysteel showed. China imported 11.88 million tons of soybeans in September, down 7.7% from the same month last year, customs data showed. The latest purchases were made by state-owned trading firms rather than private crushers, suggesting Beijing is maintaining the US soybean supply line at the state level while tariff talks remain unresolved.