Chinese Commit to Purchasing 10-Percent of U.S. Soybean Crop

(USAgNet) – Chinese leaders made commitments to purchase $4.31 billion worth of U.S. soybeans during signing ceremonies that took place this week at the World Food Prize Center in Des Moines, Iowa. The commitments total more than 8.62 million metric tons or 317 million bushels, with more soybean commitments expected to be signed in Los Angeles in the next few days.

The delegation, led by Bian Zhenhu, president of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-products (CFNA), indicated its intentions to purchase U.S. soybeans by signing 15 contracts with U.S. companies, including ADM, AGP, Bunge, Cargill and CHS, among others.

The Sino-U.S. Agricultural Trade Cooperation Conference and Soybean Contract Signing Ceremony was hosted by the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA), the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC), United Soybean Board (USB) and the American Soybean Association (ASA), and attended by U.S. soybean industry representatives, USDA officials and Iowa state leaders and dignitaries, in addition to Chinese guests who included the Ministry of Commerce, People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM) delegation headed by Assistant Minister Mr. Yu Jianhua and the Hebei Provincial Commercial Delegation.

Other leaders participating in the ceremony also made remarks about the significance of the ceremony and the mutually beneficial relationship between U.S. soybean farmers and China.

“China consumes around 25 percent of the U.S. production of soybeans,” said Roy Bardole, USSEC chairman and a soybean farmer from Rippey, Iowa. “As the soy family continues to work to position U.S. soybeans as the best value in the world, my fellow farmers look forward to providing China and other global markets with a quality product. We look forward to many more years of working together.”

Xiaoping Zhang, who accompanied the visiting delegation as the China country director for American Soybean Association – International Marketing (ASA-IM), said, “Chinese government and soybean buyers attach great importance to trade relations with the U.S. for a reliable supply of soybeans to feed the world’s largest population, whose living standard continues to improve. The 30-member delegation represents 45 percent of total U.S. soybean exports in FY10/11, and they have actively participated in the U.S. soybean industry’s promotional activities both in China and in the U.S. to sustain and increase the demand for soy products. In addition to this signing ceremony, they have looked forward to meeting with the U.S. soy industry to develop a closer relationship with and better understanding of the efficiency of the U.S. industry.”

The U.S. produces approximately 35 percent of the world’s soybeans. Since 1991, global soybean demand has increased 151 percent. Soy is the No. 1 U.S. ag export with roughly 55 percent of the U.S. soybean crop exported. In 2011, 40.859 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans was exported. Of that, 24.368 million metric tons, or approximately 60 percent of U.S. soybean exports, went to China in 2011.