Imports of US soybeans to China fell by 25% in February, compared with the same month a year earlier as Brazil’s bumper crop displaced US farmer supply.
China imported 5.42 million mt of soybeans in February, with the US taking a 3.345 million mt market share, compared with 1.75 million mt from Brazil.
A year earlier the US exported 4.4 million mt versus Brazilian supply of 687,000 mt and show that the US is losing market share.
The announcement comes at a time of tense trade relations between the US and China.
The former finance minister of China said that the government should act against US soybean imports as retaliation for US proposed taxes on $60 billion worth of Chinese goods.
And in a separate statement, Xinhua news agency reported that China’s top trade minister Vice-Premier Liu spoke by phone to US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to warn him that “China is prepared to defend its national interests.”
China is expected to import 100 million mt this marketing year.