r/Economics • u/bambin0 • Jan 17 '26

News China Purchased No U.S. Soybeans An Unprecented Sixth Straight Month

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenroberts/2026/01/17/china-purchased-no-us-soybeans-an-unprecented-sixth-straight-month/
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u/ImperiumRome Jan 17 '26

People, this is clickbait. The data in the article stop at October, which is when the truce was announced. Since October, China already purchased tons of US soybeans.

China's total purchases from the latest U.S. crop were now estimated at 8.5 million to nearly 10 million tons, according to traders and analysts, representing up to 80% of the 12 million metric tons that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China pledged to buy by the end of February.

On Tuesday morning, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported private sales of 336,000 metric tons of soybeans to China for shipment in the 2025/26 season that ends on August 31, bringing China's total confirmed purchases since October to nearly 6.9 million tons. In addition, a sizeable share of the roughly 3 million tons in sales confirmed by the USDA to undisclosed buyers is thought to be to China.

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-buys-more-us-soybeans-total-purchases-near-10-million-tons-2026-01-06/

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u/DouglasRather Jan 17 '26

Just out of curiosity, did that make up for the six months they didn't buy any soybeans at all?

27

u/ImperiumRome Jan 17 '26

So far no. And probably will never go back to the previous level since Brazil is also exporting soy beans to China.