China's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. soybeans, threatened for weeks and enacted Friday, have driven down prices and triggered a wave of bargain shopping by importers in other countries stocking up on cheap U.S. supplies, according to a Reuters analysis of government data.
Fox Business reports Chinese buyers have so far this year accounted for just 17% of all advanced purchases of the fall U.S. soybean harvest - down from an average of 60% over the past decade.
They are instead loading up on Brazilian soybeans, which now sell at a premium of up to $1.50 a bushel as U.S. soybean futures have fallen 17% over six weeks to about $8.50, their lowest level in nearly a decade.
The price gap has sparked a run on U.S. soybeans by importers from Mexico to Pakistan to Thailand, according to the analysis of U.S. Agriculture Department data.
