CARAH HART
Brownfield Ag News
Corn and soybean futures are higher to start the week after the White House said China agreed to purchase at least $17 billion annually in U.S. ag products for the next three years. This is in addition to soybean commitments that were announced last October.
Sam Hudson with Corn Belt Marketing says there’s more confidence this could bring additional demand for U.S. agriculture, but more details are needed.
“Is that in addition to some of these commitments they’ve already made? For example, soybeans, I think the 25 million metric tons is over the next three years, which is kind of an average number that you could fall on either side of anyways. But if this is in addition to that, then I think it does stoke the fire a little bit.”
Tommy Grisafi with Ag Bull Trading says he’s not sure if China will follow through on the deal, even though the country has met some of their soybean purchase commitments made last fall.
But he tells Brownfield news outlets in China are confirming the agreement.
“I guess the news was percieved as oh, once they buy all the beans, they won’t have much money left to buy the rest. Then, I think people realized that was excluding soybeans,” he says. “If true, that would be wonderful for corn, wheat, cotton and other things we do such a good job growing here. We’ll see if it happens.”
Grisafi says the move higher in the grain futures are an opportunity for farmers lock in some prices for fall harvest.
“November soybeans is approaching $12 again. That’s a really great sign for producers. We’re back to the $7 wheat, $5 corn, and $12 bean level in some of these markets, and that’s a good thing.”
A fact sheet from the White House also says China has restored market access for U.S. beef by renewing expired listings of more than 400 U.S. beef facilities and have added new listings, and China has resumed U.S. poultry imports determined by USDA as free of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.
About the Author
