Soybean industry faces tough season without China trade boost

Following China and the United States' recent agreement to further extend the pause on tariff increases, US soybean industry representatives expressed their eagerness to see the resumption of soybean trade with China to continue the two countries' soybean trade partnership.

Jim Sutter, CEO of U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC)

"Unfortunately, right now, our farmers and exporters are being disadvantaged," said Jim Sutter, CEO of the US Soybean Export Council (USSEC). He praised the cooperation between Chinese partners and US soybean farmers and exporters, which used to be a win-win deal, but said today's situation is a "lose-lose."

China, a major global buyer of soybeans, saw a substantial decline in its soybean imports from the US over the past year. Specifically, China's share of U.S. soybean exports fell to 44.6 percent last year, down from its peak of 62.4 percent in 2011, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture and China's General Administration of Customs.

The U.S. — the world's second-largest soybean producer, trailing only Brazil — is now confronting a grim outlook for the 2025-26 marketing year, said Bruno Coletti, lead market analyst at Soy Connext 2025, a global summit hosted by the USSEC from Aug 20 to 22 in Washington, DC. He added that as of mid-August, the US' committed soybean sales accounted for just 10.2 percent of the total, marking the second-lowest figure in nearly two decades.

Disappointing situation

This year, the US has significantly increased tariffs on imports from many of its trading partners. In response, China has implemented measures to protect its interests, such as imposing higher tariffs on soybean imports from the US. Consequently, Chinese importers have turned to Brazilian soybean suppliers.

Sutter said the current situation is very "disappointing" as US farmers are the "target" of this escalating trade tension.

"When our farmers planted their soybeans in the springtime in April and May, they had every intention of being able to supply China. They believed that their No 1 customer would continue to be their No 1 customer."

"But now, Chinese consumers are paying more, our farmers are selling for less," Sutter said.

The USSEC, representing the entire US soy supply chain, has been working to attain market access for the use of US soy for human consumption, aquaculture and livestock feed in more than 80 countries worldwide. It has been working in China for 43 years, and in the past five to 10 years, USSEC has been making every effort to maintain the long-standing China-US soybean trade.

Sutter noted the quality of US soybeans is unparalleled. As 97 percent of farms in the US are owned and operated by families, most soybeans are grown by family farmers. These operations often involve multiple generations, with farms being passed down over time.

"The US farmers are doing all kinds of things to take good care of their own soil, to make sure that it doesn't suffer from erosion and that the soil is adequately fed with nutrients so that the plants can be fed."

Another factor that benefits US soybean trade is infrastructure, which allows soybeans to be transported efficiently to the world market.

Sutter also mentioned the way US soybeans mature. "In some other countries with tropical climates, the soybeans never really mature. So they're higher in moisture, making them more susceptible to damage. U.S. soybeans are harvested in a natural way, which allows them to be stored, handled and kept in good quality as they're shipped to China."

In April, The Free Press published a letter written by Caleb Ragland, president of the American Soybean Association and a soybean farmer from Magnolia, Kentucky. In the letter, Ragland made an urgent plea to President Trump on behalf of 500,000 soybean farmers, calling for the immediate recovery of the trade deal with China.

The trade war is a "gamble with American livelihoods" and is causing devastating effects. Some of Ragland's fellow farmers have been forced to auction off their farms, Ragland said in the letter.

Commenting on the potential recovery of the US-China trade deal, Sutter said: "I just can't imagine that we will never trade again. So I think it's important that we continue to do our work and build these relations, maintain them and build them for the future."

Mutual benefits

Zhang Xiaoping, Greater China Regional Director, U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC)

Greater China Regional Director of USSEC Zhang Xiaoping emphasized the mutual benefits of China-US trade. "The complementarity of the two nations in the agricultural sector is too strong. The US has rich agricultural resources while China has a huge market."

"Soybeans have been regarded as the most cost-effective protein ingredient in animal feed because of higher digestibility. Relying on its vast fertile land, US farmers can sustainably produce high-quality soybeans at a large scale to support the modernization of China's livestock, poultry, agriculture and food industries," Zhang said, adding that the high digestibility also means much lower waste, leading to positive effects on the environmentally friendly development of Chinese industry.

Taking aquaculture as an example, back in early 1990's, USSEC began to introduce practical solutions to help upgrade the Chinese industry. Those included the feed-based technology to replace animal waste based aquaculture, floating aqua feed to replace sinking feed, 80:20 technology instead of mixed species in pond aquaculture, High Density Low Volume cage technology and soy-based aqua feed. In recent years, USSEC introduced an In-Pond Raceway System with multiple benefits including but not limited to increasing the efficiency of China's agricultural industry, improving the quality and safety of aquatic products, and promoting environmentally friendly farming.

A collaborative program between USSEC and its Henan provincial partners, focusing on a soybean innovation center, is advancing steadily with three main initiatives — innovative solution training, demonstration and promotion.

Based on practices from US farms, USSEC created the Soy Sustainability Assurance Protocol, which pledges to issue a sustainability certificate on each individual shipment out of the US for free. "This can be interpreted as support for China's achievement in sustainable food security, as the effort can make soy-related foods more affordable," Zhang said.

Normally, October is the main season for US soybeans being shipped to China. "We had pretty good shipments to China last year and we haven’t really missed any shipping seasons yet. We are looking forward to being able to ship our soybeans to China very soon," Sutter said.