China plans to purchase soybeans from this year's harvest and return its bean spending to previous levels

China plans to purchase U.S. soybeans from this year's 
harvest. (Adobe Stock photo)

After months of zero soybean sales to China, a trade deal announced between the U.S. and China will bring some relief to U.S. soybean farmers. 

"China has pledged to return its purchases of U.S. soybeans to regular levels in each of the next three years, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent," reports Ben Berkowitz of Axios. Last year, China purchased roughly half of all U.S. soybeans, which totaled about $13 billion.

Despite China's purchase of soybeans from Argentina in September and October, Bessent's announcement included purchase details for this year's U.S. harvest. "Bessent said China pledged to buy 12 million metric tons of soybeans from U.S. farmers this season."

While the final terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, it appears that "China’s purchases of farm products will revert to what it imported before Trump retook office and initiated a new trade war," reports Alan Rappeport of The New York Times.

The sale of soybeans from this year's crop will bring some financial stability to farming families who were already operating on razor-thin margins due to high input costs and low commodity prices. Rappeport explains, "The loss of China as a buyer of soybeans and other American farm products raised fears in rural America that a 1980s-style farm crisis was looming and that many farms could go bankrupt."

On top of China's soybean purchase, Bessent said that "other countries in Southeast Asia had also agreed to buy an additional 19 million metric tons of American soybeans," Rapppeport writes. "He did not specify over what time frame those purchases would occur, but said that overall, President Trump had delivered for the farmers."