China Agriculture View

Last week, China announced it will sell 500,000 tonnes of soybeans, 1.2 million tonnes of corn and 750,000 tonnes of wheat.

China is one of the world’s biggest consumers of soybeans for its huge pig and livestock industry. It has become a heavy buyer of U.S. soybeans after the crop in Argentina, the No. 3 world producer, was battered by drought. Sales of old crop US soybeans to China have supported prices in the US in the face of falling crude oil futures which have been a big driver of late, and it has reduced carryover stocks to 110 million bushels, the lowest in over three decades. China has also been a big consumer of last season’s canola, doubling the average amount that they normally take from Canada.