China
As China tightens its belt, U.S. soybeans feel the pinch
The giant of world soybean trade, China, will slash its soy imports by 10 percent this trade year under the dual effects of trade war with the United States and an outbreak of African swine fever, said the U.S. agriculture attache in Beijing. At the same time, USDA data show a sharp decline in soybean exports to all markets and a trade group said tit-for-tat tariffs are putting pressure on pork sales to China and Mexico.
Trump’s trade war knocks soybeans out of running for top U.S. crop for a decade
The neck-and-neck race between soybeans and corn for the title of No. 1 U.S. crop is over after one lap, with corn the victor and soybeans out of the running due to trade war with China. The USDA says corn will be the acreage king for years to come while soybeans recover slowly from the loss of sales to China, which used to buy one of every three bushels of U.S. soybeans.
Chinese ‘pullback’ from U.S. soybeans likely to persist for months
The U.S. share of the Chinese soybean market shrank during the marketing year that ended Aug. 31 and, with the trade war underway, shipments are anemic in the new sales year, says the USDA: "A large pullback in Chinese demand for U.S. soybeans appears likely to continue well into 2918/19."
‘Dairy was a deal-breaker’ in writing NAFTA’s successor, says president
President Trump veered between predicting easy approval of the new Canada-Mexico-U.S. trade agreement and expressing concerns about opposition to the pact on Monday while declaring that the agreement “is a very, very big deal for our farmers.”
As checks flow, USDA adds almonds and cherries to Trump tariff bailout
China soaks up Brazilian soybeans
As a consequence of the Sino-U.S. trade war, Brazil is likely to ship nearly 60 million tonnes of soybeans to China this calendar year, a 9-percent increase from 2017, say USDA analysts. While the United States is effectively shut out of China because of high tariffs, "U.S. trade opportunities for markets outside of China would rise by nearly 13 million tonnes in the coming (trade) year, compared to 2016/17," according to the monthly Oilseeds: World Markets and Trade report.
Trump orders tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports
With a warning against retaliation that targets "our farmers or other industries," President Trump ordered a new wave of tariffs on Chinese products, this time on $200 billion of goods that will face a 10 percent duty initially and rise to 25 percent on Jan. 1. "Once again, I urge China’s leaders to take swift action to end their country’s unfair trade practices," said Trump, suggesting he and Chinese President Xi Jinping could end the trade war through face-to-face negotiations.
U.S. awash in corn and soybeans, says USDA harvest forecast
The mammoth corn and soybean crops awaiting harvest across America are larger than expected, the USDA said on Wednesday in its monthly Crop Production report.
Disease hitting Chinese hogs sure to spread in Asia
The world's leading hog producer, China has culled nearly 40,000 hogs in its attempts to stop African swine fever since the disease, deadly for hogs but no threat to humans, was spotted on its farms last month. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said the disease will almost certainly emerge in other countries in Asia.
Administration optimistic on Canada, less so on China, say ag leaders
On Wednesday, three state Farm Bureau presidents told administration leaders, including President Trump, that farmers, hit hard by retaliatory tariffs, need open markets soon. “There’s a fairly short runway,” said South Dakota’s Scott VanderWal.
China trips soybeans, corn wins race for top U.S. crop
A year after making soybeans the most widely grown crop in the country, U.S. farmers will make corn king again, driven by trade war with China and a burdensome soy stockpile, said the FAPRI think tank at the University of Missouri. "China's tariffs will reduce U.S. soybean exports," said FAPRI. The research group expects farmers will slash soybean plantings by 5.5 percent in 2019 in the face of the lowest market price in 12 years.
Trade war ends China’s role as top U.S. ag export customer
Canada, runner-up for most of this decade, has replaced China as the top market for U.S. farm exports because of the high tariffs that have discouraged sales in the Sino-U.S. trade war, said the Agriculture Department on Wednesday. China will finish this year as the No. 3 customer for U.S. ag exports, behind Mexico.
Midwest scores big on Trump tariff payments; decision on second round in early December
Nearly half of the $4.7 billion in Trump tariff payments will go to five midwestern states that are the largest soybean and hog producers in the country, said a farm group analysis on Tuesday. At the same time, an environmental group challenged the USDA to explain its opaque development of the bailout package.
Farmers to cool on soybeans, switch back to corn as No. 1 crop
Stung by a trade war with China, ordinarily the purchaser of one-third of the U.S. soybean crop, farmers will switch decisively to corn in 2019, reinstating it as the most widely grown crop in the country, according to a Farm Futures survey of growers.
Trump’s farmer bailout: half now, the rest later … maybe
President Trump's promise to protect U.S. agriculture from retaliatory tariffs by China and other countries will be paid on the installment plan — half this fall and the rest in December, or early 2018 if assistance is still needed, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Monday. The USDA announced $6.2 billion in outlays that will begin in September, with soybean growers in line for $3.6 billion of it.
Two sides of Washington: Trump bailout and China tariffs
The Trump administration will hear hours of testimony about its proposed 25 percent tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese products on Monday, overlapping with the expected USDA announcement of up to $12 billion in aid for U.S. agriculture to offset the impact of Chinese tariffs on farm exports. Soybean growers are likely to get the largest share of the spending since the oilseed is the largest ag export to China.
The global flood of grain begins to drain away
Trump tariff bailout may be sunlight ahead of storm clouds over farm sector
Crop and livestock producers are likely to learn on Monday how the Trump administration will allocate up to $12 billion in aid to offset the impact of retaliatory Chinese tariffs on the U.S. farm sector, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.
Mexico to displace China as top corn importer
China will remain the leading importer of soybeans and cotton, but Mexico will be the world's largest corn importer for the rest of this decade, said the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute. The United States would be the top corn exporter despite increased competition from Brazil, said the University of Missouri think tank in updating its international marketing baseline.