China has purchased 1.13 million tons of U.S. soybeans, which farmers and grain traders believe is not enough in itself to boost depressed prices or absorb the huge stockpiles accumulated in the U.S. agricultural belt.
Reuters first reported on the purchase on Wednesday, and President Trump said in an exclusive interview Tuesday that China was buying "a lot" of American soybeans.
"Purchasing 1 million tons and 1.5 million tons is a very good step," U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Steve Censky said at the annual meeting of the Iowa Soybean Association on Thursday. "But more purchases are needed. If you use the standard of normal years, we should sell 30-35 million tons to China."
"We think it's a good start and hopeful progress," Sonny Perdue, the US Agriculture Secretary, told reporters in Washington. "We certainly hope and expect that to happen," he said, referring to further sales.
Asked if he had negotiated further purchases with China, Perdue said, "No, we don't, but as you know, the U.S. Trade Representative is responsible for this."
Soybean prices fell on Thursday as grain traders focused on the huge surplus of soybeans in the United States and a record harvest in a few weeks in Brazil, the world's largest soybean exporter.
Before the US sold soybeans to China, US President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met during the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Buenos Aires to agree to a 90-day truce in the trade war to negotiate trade agreements.
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