China has moved early to lock in soybean supplies from Brazil for September and October, sidelining US exporters from what is traditionally their most lucrative selling period.
The shift underscores Beijing’s growing trade reliance on South America and comes amid renewed political and commercial tensions with Washington.
According to market analysis from Brazil’s Safras & Mercado, traders reported Chinese purchases of roughly 8 million tonnes of soybeans for September and 4 million tonnes for October, about half of the country’s projected demand for the two months. All volumes are sourced from South America, with Brazil capturing the lion’s share.
The move effectively shortens the US “window” for soybean shipments to China, which typically runs from September to January before the Brazilian harvest arrives.
Last year, China imported 105 million tonnes of soybeans, 22.13 million of them from the US, illustrating how pivotal this early-season slot has been for American farmers. The decision to buy more soybeans from South America comes as Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures hover near five-year lows, with reduced Chinese buying expected to keep prices under pressure.
Neither the Chinese embassy in Washington nor the one in Brasília immediately responded to a request for comment.
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