China Halts US Soybean Imports, Boosts Purchases from Argentina

24-Dec-2025 08:48 PM

Shanghai. Despite a bilateral agreement, China did not import soybeans from the United States during the September-November 2025 quarter.

Instead, Chinese importers continued to show interest in purchasing this important oilseed from Latin American countries – Brazil and Argentina.

It is noteworthy that a trade agreement was reached between the US and China in late October 2025, in which China agreed to resume purchasing American soybeans. According to trade analysts, more than 7 million tons of soybeans had been purchased since then.

In late November, it was reported that two ships carrying soybeans were scheduled to depart from the US for China.

This would have marked the first shipment of American soybeans to arrive at a Chinese port since May 2025.

However, these two ships have not yet arrived in China, nor has there been any mention of them on the customs department's website.

On the other hand, China is importing large quantities of soybeans from Brazil and Argentina. In November, soybean imports from Brazil increased by 48.5 percent to 5.85 million tons, accounting for 72 percent of China's total imports.

Similarly, imports from Argentina more than quadrupled, reaching 1.78 million tons, representing 22 percent of China's total imports.

The remaining soybeans were imported from other countries. In the 11 months from January to November of this year, China imported a total of approximately 103.8 million tons of soybeans.