US soybean producers let crops rot by closing sales to China

US soybean exports to China dropped by 98% as a result of the tariff war between the two countries, prompting producers to let a large portion of their crops rot, unable to sell or pay storage.

In this regard, the data processed by the US Department of Agriculture are revealing, according to a note from the Sputnik Mundo website. Between 2017 and 2018, the country controlled 35% of the world soybean market. Behind – with 33% – was Brazil, followed by Argentina with 14%. China controlled 4% and at the same time it bought 47% of Brazil and 5% of Argentina imported soybeans. Now, these two countries are finding that their exports to China are increasing at the expense of the United States.

Before President Donald Trump launches the tariff war with Beijing, US agricultural producers, accustomed to mbadive Chinese soybean purchases, have allocated 89.1 million hectares of land to their crops, twice as much as In 2017. objective to increase the production of exported soya. Which is natural, given that its culture accounts for 60% of the agricultural products that the North American country sells to the Asian giant.

US farmers planted 36 million hectares of soybeans this year

Now, American farmers who are finishing their crops are facing a big problem: where to place the mountain of cereals that they can not sell to the Chinese, after applying a 25% tariff on soy imports in response to similar measures adopted by Trump.

The scene is repeated everywhere in the United States, where grain farmers plow crops, leave them to rot or pile them up on the ground, according to interviews with dozens of farmers, university researchers and agricultural lenders.

They agree that this is one of the results of the trade war between the United States and China, which has significantly affected the export demand and flooded the storage facilities of the United States. resulting surplus of grain.

In Louisiana, up to 15% of oilseeds are plowed or too damaged for the market, according to data badyzed by university staff.

Harvests are going to be wasted in parts of Mississippi and Arkansas, while stacks of grain abound in the soils of North and South Dakota. And in Illinois and Indiana, some farmers are trying to protect silobols full of crops from animals.

US farmers planted 36 million hectares of soybeans this year, the second-highest level in history, in the hope that China's growing demand would give them better yields than the others. cultures. Cross-pricing, however, has limited US soybean sales to China, estimated at about $ 12 billion last year. The Asian giant usually buys about 60% of US stocks.

Washington has put in place a similar aid package – $ 12 billion – to help farmers absorb the costs of trade war. By mid-November, US $ 837.8 million had been paid.