Two cargo vessels were headed toward grain port terminals earlier this week near New Orleans to load with what will be the first U.S. soybean shipments to China since May. A third vessel is moved toward a Texas Gulf Coast terminal to be loaded with U.S. sorghum bound for China, marking the first American shipment of the feed grain since mid-March.
“U.S. farmers and grain traders have been awaiting shipments to China to resume after Beijing shunned U.S. crops for months due to a trade war with Washington, costing U.S. farmers billions on lost trade,” Reuters reported.
China booked nearly 2 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans and a smaller volume of wheat following a late-October meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea. During that meeting, the White House said China agreed to buy 12 million tons of soybeans before the end of the year, though China has not officially confirmed the deal, adding further uncertainty to already volatile grain markets.