BEIJING: China imported no soybeans from the US for a second straight month in October even as total imports surged to a record high on purchases from South America, with buyers aiming to avert supply disruptions amid trade tensions with Washington.
Data from China’s General Administration of Customs on Thursday showed U.S. soybean imports in October fell to zero from 541,434 metric tons a year earlier.
The decline followed China’s imposition of high tariffs on U.S. soybeans earlier in the year and the depletion of previously harvested U.S. supplies, or old-crop beans. China is the world’s biggest soybean importer.
In contrast, arrivals from Brazil last month jumped 28.8% year-on-year to 7.12 million tons, representing 75.1% of China’s total imports of the oilseed, customs data showed, while shipments from Argentina rose 15.4% to 1.57 million tons, making up one-sixth of the total.
China’s overall soybean imports hit 9.48 million metric tons in October, a record for the month.
From January to October, China imported 70.81 million tons from Brazil, up 4.5% year-on-year, and 4.46 million tons from Argentina, up 23.9% year-on-year.
Despite the recent drop in arrivals, earlier purchases in 2025 lifted year-to-date imports of American beans to 16.82 million tons, an increase of 11.5%, data showed.
After largely shunning U.S. soybeans for months during the tense trade standoff between Washington and Beijing, China has stepped up purchases following late-October talks between the two countries’ leaders in South Korea.
State-run grain buyer COFCO has led the buying, booking more than 1 million tons of U.S. soybeans since late October, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
Markets are now watching for additional large Chinese purchases to meet the 12-million-ton year-end target announced by the White House. China has not yet confirmed the figure.
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