US farmers’ loss is Brazil’s gain as China diversifies soybean imports

Amid an escalating trade war with the US, China has turned to Brazil for more agricultural imports, and April has seen a significant rise in soybean shipments from the South American country.

An estimated 40 ship calls carrying Brazilian soybeans are expected at Ningbo Zhoushan Port this month, marking a 48 per cent year-on-year increase, according to a Monday report by Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV.

The vessels are set to unload around 700,000 tonnes of soybeans at the port, representing a 32 per cent increase compared with the same time last year, the report added.

This marks the latest evidence that China is reducing its reliance on US agricultural imports, following last week’s cancellation of orders for 12,030 metric tonnes of American pork – the largest such cancellation since May 2020.

Washington has imposed tariffs totalling 145 per cent on Chinese imports so far this year, bringing the effective tariff rate to about 156 per cent. According to a fact sheet released by the White House, China now faces tariffs of up to 245 per cent – a figure that includes tariffs predating the second administration of US President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Beijing’s new levies on US goods have risen to 125 per cent, also on top of earlier-imposed tariffs.

The subsequent hit to America’s soybean trade has been “a tough pill to swallow considering China remains US soy’s greatest export market”, said Caleb Ragland, president of the American Soybean Association, in an online statement earlier this month amid the tit-for-tat tariff retaliation.

  

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