While the U.S. continues to maintain being the primary trading partner with Central American and Caribbean neighbors, heightened Chinese economic engagement with those neighbors concerns several Congressional members. Over a dozen representatives sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai asking for immediate attention to the growing influence of the Chinese Communist Party in both Latin America and the Caribbean trade and economic development.

Financial Times writers Demetri Sevastopulo and Ryan McMorrow reported on Thursday that, “Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have agreed to hold a virtual summit this year, in the first sign of improving relations between the countries since the US president took office.

In its monthly Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook report last week, USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) stated that, “In July, U.S. beef exports totaled 297 million pounds, exceeding last July’s exports by 17.9 percent or 45 million pounds.

The rise in part reflects large shipments of U.S. beef to China, the largest U.S. beef exports to China, ever recorded, totaling almost 45 million pounds more than the previous year.

China's wheat imports hit the highest level in more than two decades. The country is accounting for 19% of global wheat consumption right now.

According to China's customs data, the U.S. supplied 3 million metric tons of wheat imports during the last marketing year, which equates to a 28% share.

Before the 2010/2011 marketing year, the country's typical wheat imports totaled 1 million metric tons or less.
Recently, that amount bumped up to an average of 3.5 million metric tons in most years.

More than 70 agricultural associations called on President Joe Biden to address ocean carrier practices that are causing increased costs and delays for American businesses. In addition, support continues to swell for a bipartisan House bill to address many of the problems contributing to the port crisis impacting agricultural exports.

Grain companies with terminals along the lower Mississippi River are looking at shifting more of their committed grain and soybean exports to ports in the Pacific Northwest while damage assessments and repairs begin in earnest following Hurricane Ida.

Hurricane Ida brought significant wind damage across New Orleans and surrounding areas. The timeframe for resuming operations is unknown due to uncertainty of when electricity will be restored. Officials in some Louisiana parishes say some towns along the coast are uninhabitable.