CHINA – China’s April soybean imports from the United States rose 15.9% month-on-month attributed to easing trade talks while imports from Brazil saw a tremendous increase during the period.

Imports from Brazil, which is set to tip the US as a top producer and exporter of soybeans were boosted by a tax cut on agricultural products.

According to Reuters, which quoted data from the General Administration of Customs, China, the world’s top soybean buyer, brought in 1.75 million tonnes of the oilseed from the United States, up 15.9% from 1.51 million tonnes in March.

Farmers from the United States, China’s second-largest soybean supplier were slapped by a 25% tariff last July following a trade fallout between President Trump’s administration and China’s Xi Jinping.

In December, the two economic giants agreed to a truce in December, something that saw China resume purchase of US soybeans.

Reports indicate that China has bought about 14 million tonnes of U.S. beans since the agreement was made.

The first major purchase included 300,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans, with the purchase deemed as the ninth-largest daily sale in the history of USDA’s record keeping.

In another instance, China reportedly purchased about 1.5 million tonnes of soybeans valued at US$500 million in one week, reportedly bought by Chinese state-run firms Sinograin and Cofco.

But the Reuters report reveals that another 6 million tonnes of anticipated purchases could be in jeopardy as Sino-U.S. trade relations entered deadlock again earlier this month.

Meanwhile, the customs data showed that China in April bought 5.79 million tonnes of soybeans from Brazil, more than doubling the 2.79 million tonnes in March

Brazilian soybean production is expected to increase by 9% to 124 million tonnes compared to the previous year and is set to benefit from the ongoing trade tensions between China and the US.

In the year 2018-19, soybean demand from China grew 20%.

In 2017, 60% of U.S. soybean exports went to China and were worth more than US$12 billion, while other markets include Brazil.