The Chinese state-owned oilseed unit Cofco stated on Monday (10) that it has signed agreements to buy Brazilian soybeans, soybean oil, palm oil and other agricultural products, with a total volume of almost 20 million tons worth more than US$10 billion.
The contracts with trading companies including ADM, Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus were signed last week at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai, Cofco Oils & Oilseeds said in a statement on its official WeChat account.
The statement did not mention U.S. agricultural products. Beijing has made modest purchases of American agricultural products, including some soybean shipments bought by COFCO as goodwill gestures amid improving trade ties with Washington.
Despite reducing some tariffs on a range of US agricultural products, China has maintained a 10% tariff on all US imports, limiting expectations for a broader trade recovery. Tariffs on soybeans, for example, fell from 23% to 13%, still too high for private buyers.
Traders are keeping an eye out for any major purchases by state-owned companies such as Cofco after the White House said Beijing has committed to buying 12 million tonnes by the end of the year.
The purchases were announced at a time when Brazilian soybeans are cheaper than North American soybeans despite the tariff reduction announced by Beijing, according to analysts’ assessments.
China has not confirmed the numbers.
