China buys at least 10 US soybean cargoes in new deals, sources say

BEIJING/SINGAPORE: China bought at least 10 cargoes of U.S. soybeans worth around US$300 million in contracts signed since Tuesday, two traders with knowledge of the deals said, a day after the presidents of both countries spoke on the phone.

The purchases of the unusually large volumes extend a surge in Chinese buying after the recent thaw in U.S.-China trade relations. U.S. President Donald Trump touted relations with China as "extremely strong" after a phone call with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday.

Trump said he had pressed Xi to accelerate and increase Beijing's purchases of U.S. goods during the call, and that the Chinese leader had "more or less agreed".

One trader said China bought about 12 cargoes, while another estimated the volume at 10–15. Each cargo is about 60,000 to 65,000 metric tons.

All the cargoes are scheduled for January shipment from U.S. Gulf Coast terminals and Pacific Northwest ports, the sources said on Wednesday.

The purchases come despite U.S. soybeans being priced higher than Brazilian supplies.

China paid around US$2.3 per bushel over the January Chicago futures contract SF26 for shipments from Gulf terminals and a premium of US$2.2 per bushel from Pacific Northwest ports, well above the prices for Brazilian soybeans, which are around US$1.8 per bushel over the January CBOT futures, traders said.

"Commercial buyers will continue to avoid U.S. soybean imports, as prices remain higher than Brazilian beans. At these levels, crush margins are not financially viable," said Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting.

China, which had largely shunned U.S. soybeans for months amid a tense Washington–Beijing trade standoff, has stepped up purchases recently following late-October talks between the two countries' leaders in South Korea.

State-run grain buyer COFCO has led the buying, booking nearly 2 million tons of U.S. soybeans since late October, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

The recent deals still remain well below the 12 million tons of purchases announced by the White House.

However, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday Chinese purchases of American soybeans are "right on schedule," citing an agreement for Beijing to buy 87.5 million tons of the U.S. product over the next three-and-a-half years.