By Ella Cao and Lewis Jackson
BEIJING (Reuters) – China imported no soybeans from the United States in September, the first time since November 2018 that shipments fell to zero, while South American shipments rose from a year earlier as buyers rejected U.S. shipments during the ongoing trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies.
Last month’s imports from the United States fell to zero from 1.7 million metric tons a year earlier, data from China’s General Administration of Customs showed on Monday.
Shipments fell because of high tariffs China has imposed on U.S. imports and because previously harvested U.S. supplies, known as old-crop beans, have already been marketed. China is the largest importer of soybeans in the world.
“This is mainly due to tariffs. In a typical year, some old crop grains would still enter the market,” said Wan Chengzhi, an analyst at Capital Jingdu Futures.
Arrivals in Brazil last month rose 29.9% year-on-year to 10.96 million tonnes, accounting for 85.2% of China’s total oilseed imports, customs data showed, while shipments from Argentina rose 91.5% to 1.17 million tonnes, or 9% of the total.
China’s soybean imports reached 12.87 million metric tons in September, the second highest level on record.
China has not purchased any shipments of US soybeans from this fall’s harvest. The window for U.S. soybean purchases is rapidly closing as buyers secure shipments through November, largely from Brazil and Argentina, helped by Argentina’s brief tax holiday.
Without a breakthrough in trade negotiations, American farmers could face billions of dollars in losses as Chinese crushers continue to source from South America. However, Beijing could also face a potential supply crisis early next year, before Brazil’s new crops hit the market.
“A gap in soybean supply may emerge in China between February and April next year if there is no trade deal in place. Brazil has already shipped a huge volume and no one knows how much old crop stock is left,” said Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting.
Trade negotiations between Beijing and Washington appear to be regaining momentum after weeks of new tariff threats and export controls. US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he believed a deal on soybeans would be reached.
For the January-September period, China imported 63.7 million tons from Brazil, up 2.4% year-on-year, and 2.9 million tons from Argentina, up 31.8% year-on-year.
Although Chinese buyers are avoiding this year’s US crop, purchases made in early 2025 mean US bean imports so far this year have totaled 16.8 million tonnes, an increase of 15.5%, the data showed.
(Reporting by Ella Cao and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)