Chinese company signs $5.2 billion agricultural deals with leading traders, supporting soybean prices

Chinese supplier and developer Xiamen on Thursday said it had signed more than $5.2 billion in agricultural deals with seven agribusinesses and trading houses, including Cargill and Louis Dreyfus Company in Shanghai, covering corn, soybeans, cotton and other commodities.

The deal with US trader Cargill covers supplies to Xiamen C&D's animal feed and food processing plants. It is not yet clear whether the deal will include soybeans, a commodity that has been the focus of attention since Washington said China would resume purchases of US soybeans as part of a trade truce reached in October.

The $2.5 billion deal with Louis Dreyfus Company will help build a stable global agricultural supply chain. In addition, Xiamen C&D has signed agreements with Swiss company Syngenta and American CHS, as well as Olam, BTG Pactual and Cutrale.

The signing of the agreements indicates China's intentions to resume purchases of agricultural products from the United States within the framework of the agreement between the leaders of the countries, which is why on Friday soybean quotes on the Chicago Stock Exchange increased by 1% to $404.8/t (+1.1% per week, +9.2% per month).

China's soybean imports have broken records for the sixth consecutive month, as the country has increased supplies from South America amid a trade war with the United States.

According to the State Administration of Customs of China, in October 2025, soybean imports reached a record for this month of 9.48 million tons, which is 17.2% higher than the figure in October 2024, although it is 26.3% lower than the figure in September, reflecting seasonal trends. In total, in the 10 months of 2025, soybean imports reached 95.68 million tons, which is 6.4% higher than the corresponding figure last year.

After a meeting between the leaders of the United States and China in late October, Washington announced that Beijing had committed to purchasing 12 million tons of American soybeans by the end of the year, but so far there have been no significant purchases.

Market experts note that China's decision to maintain a 13% tariff on soybeans makes supplies from the US uncompetitive compared to Brazilian ones.

Recently, Chinese importers purchased 20 batches of cheap Brazilian soybeans amid falling prices in South America in anticipation of resumption of supplies from the United States.