US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, left, and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer meet the media on the second day of a bilateral meeting between the United States and China, in Geneva, Switzerland, Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent extended an earlier deadline for Beijing’s purchases of American soybeans from December to February. Bessent said China is on pace to meet its pledge to buy 12 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans by the end of February.
Bloomberg said Bessent was asked about soybean purchases and the time left before the end of the year, to which the Secretary clarified that the target was the “end of the season,” which would be February 28.
Reuters said the USDA confirmed 2.25 million tons of Chinese purchases to date for shipment in the 2025-2026 marketing year that ends in August 2026. Analysts and traders estimate that actual sales could be somewhere between three and four million tons, as some individual deals were likely under the USDA’s threshold, while others were reported to undisclosed destinations. However, total Chinese purchases remain well short of the volumes bought before the trade war.
NAFB news service
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