Chinese buyers have halted purchases of this year’s coming US soyabean crop, the head of the world’s biggest oilseed processor has said, in a sign that trade tension is reshaping buying patterns to the detriment of American farmers.
Soren Schroder, chief executive of Bunge, expected the US to make “very little if any” sales of soyabeans to China, the top importer of the foodstuff. “Whatever Chinese business is taking place is directed away from the US to Brazil and Canada,” he said.
China has warned it will add duties of 25 per cent on US soyabeans if Donald Trump follows through with threats to impose tariffs on a number of Chinese imports. US soyabean exports to China were worth $12bn last year.