USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue Talks About Coronavirus
According to Reuters, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue said that the US would have to be tolerant if the coronavirus slowed China's import pace of US farm products.
The two countries signed the first of a multi-stage trade deal on Jan. 15.
China has promised to buy at least an additional $12.5 billion worth of U.S. farm products in 2020 and at least $19.5 billion in 2021 over the 2017 level of $24 billion.
According to Reuters, Perdue mentioned but he did not say how the US would need to adjust its expectations.
The deal text contains a disaster clause, yet to be formally invoked by Beijing, to allow for delays.
FBN’s Take On What It Means: While both China and the world are attempting to determine how the coronavirus will impact the Chinese economy and US farm imports, we continue to monitor the news to see if China invokes the disaster clause that is contained in the Phase-1 trade agreement.
Brazilian Beef Exports to China Accelerate in January
Brazilian beef exports rose by 9.8% in January driven by a surge in sales to China.
Brazil's beef exports totaled 135,375 tonnes in the first month of 2020.
Shipments to China were 53,200 tonnes, an increase of 126% from 2019.
The dollar value of Brazilian beef also rose with increased export sales. Beef sales totaled $322.8 million, a 200% rise from January 2019.
Brazilian companies stand to benefit as food exporters to China because Brazil is a safe source of meat.
Brazil has never had a case of bird flu or African swine fever.
In 2019, China certified 50 Brazilian beef, pork, and poultry packing plants for exports.
FBN’s Take On What It Means: We believe that the increased Brazilian sales volume to China is not a surprise and articulates the breadth of the global beef trade. While China represents a growing market for beef exports we believe that the spike in Brazilian export volume to China can be attributed to the US/Chinese trade war which continues to have lingering negative effects on the US farmer.
The risk of trading futures, hedging, and speculating can be substantial. FBN BR LLC (NFA ID: 0508695)
