Exporters sold nearly 2.7 million tonnes of U.S. soybeans in the first half of this month for delivery to China, said the USDA on Thursday. A “significant” sale was reported on each of the 10 business days beginning on Sept. 3, said the Foreign Agricultural Service, which tracks exports.
The most recent sale, 264,000 tonnes, was reported on Thursday. By law, exporters are required to promptly report sales of grains and soybeans that exceed 100,000 tonnes. China, the largest agricultural importer in the world, has been an active buyer of U.S. commodities since mid-July. The sales have bolstered market prices and stirred hopes that China will comply with a pledge to buy $36.6 billion worth of U.S. food, agricultural, and seafood products this year.
However, Chinese authorities said they would keep tariff-rate quotas for wheat, corn, and rice in 2021 at the same levels as previous years — 9.6 million tonnes of wheat, 7.2 million tonnes of corn, and 5.3 million tonnes of rice. Under the tariff-rate quota system, low duties are assigned to an initial volume of imports, with higher duties triggered when imports exceed that initial volume. The comparatively low quotas for the three grains could constrain imports, though China can adjust the quotas as it wishes.