China’s soybean processors are snapping up record volumes of Brazilian cargoes for shipment in the fourth quarter, curbing purchases of U.S. crops in North America’s peak marketing season as the trade war between Washington and Beijing intensifies.
Reuters reports that shift away from U.S. beans by China, which takes more than 60% of the commodity traded worldwide, will pile further pressure on benchmark Chicago Board of Trade prices Sv1 after they plumbed 10-year lows last week.
Brazil’s soybean export season typically ends in August-September after which cargoes from the U.S. take over the market until March. But Chinese importers have this year booked a record 12 to 14 million tonnes of Brazilian beans for October-November arrival, according to the trader and an analyst in China.
“The government’s signal on this is clear - do not buy U.S. beans,” a senior analyst with a major futures brokerage in China told Reuters.
