Foreign media reported that China purchased 12 million tons of U.S. soybeans over the past three months. This was one of the agreements from the last U.S.-China summit, under which China pledged to complete the purchase of a total of 12 million tons by February and then buy at least 25 million tons every year for the next three years.
On the 20th, Bloomberg, citing a source, reported that "China, the world's largest soybean consumer, has booked enough volume to meet the (soybean purchase) target agreed with the United States."
Earlier, the United States and China held a summit in Busan at the end of Oct. last year and agreed to resume China's purchases of U.S. soybeans. According to a White House announcement and foreign media reports, China agreed to purchase 12 million tons of U.S. soybeans by this month, and the deadline later shifted to February.
Bloomberg said, "Most of the volume is scheduled to be shipped within the first quarter," adding, "A substantial amount is expected to go into China's state reserves." According to the report, the state-owned Sinograin led the purchases, and China recently held several soybean auctions; Bloomberg interpreted this as "clearing space for the shipment volumes."
China still faces the goal of "purchasing at least 25 million tons annually through 2028." Bloomberg said, "Meeting this purchase target is likely to increase confidence that future targets can also be achieved."