A record high amount of U.S. crude oil is likely to be discharged at Chinese ports this month.
Reuters reports China will import nearly 900,000 barrels per day of U.S. crude in September. That is far more than its July and August purchases, but analysts predict the purchases will drop in October and maybe again in November.
One Midwestern researcher wonders if soybeans should be the central focus of agriculture trade with China.
The Phase 1 Trade Deal saw a recent growth spurt with China purchasing nearly 665,000 metric-tons of U.S. soybeans, but China is still far behind its goal of U.S. ag imports for the year.
In regards to purchase commitments, an economics professor at Iowa State University says that this could set the stage for longer-term strategies.
“I think this has an opportunity for both sides to evaluate whether that agricultural trade should be so soybean centered, because when you are looking at all these Chinese purchases, China almost set record levels of food imports the entire first half of the year, but a lot of the products they’re buying are from other countries. They’re buying not necessarily just soybeans,” Dr. Wendong Zhang said. “So, I think that the U.S. can do a lot better when it comes to proteins like pork and beef and retail products.”
Last week USDA reported China agreed to buy nearly 10 million tons of American soybeans between now and August 2021.
China’s Phase One commitments could be kept with ethanol.
Higher soybean exports predicted for 2021.
New reports show positive demand for U.S. soybeans.