US Agricultural Exports to China Expected to Reach Record High This Year with Sharp Increase in Corn and Soybean Shipments

315 Billion USD Expected This Fiscal Year... Sharp Increase in Chinese Corn Imports at Year-End

Chicago Mercantile Exchange Corn Futures Price Trend [Image Source= Bloomberg]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] The scale of U.S. agricultural exports to China for this fiscal year is expected to reach an all-time high.

According to Bloomberg News, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced in a report released on the 18th (local time) that agricultural exports to China for the fiscal year ending this September are expected to reach $31.5 billion.

This is a significant 17% increase from the forecast presented last November. The USDA cited a sharp increase in China's corn imports in the fourth quarter of last year as the reason for the upward revision.

In 2018, China culled hundreds of millions of pigs due to African swine fever. Recently, China has been increasing its pig breeding numbers again, and in the process, it is importing large quantities of corn for feed.

The USDA also raised its overall forecast for total agricultural exports for this fiscal year by 3.3% from the previous estimate. The newly projected export value is $157 billion.

In particular, soybean export value is expected to reach a record high of $27.4 billion. The USDA raised the soybean export forecast by 4.2% from the previous estimate, citing strong demand from China and rising soybean prices.

As China's feed import volume has significantly increased, corn and soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade have recently hit consecutive record highs.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.