China Cancels US Orders, Buys Russian Soy

Beijing calls off investigation of US sorghum
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 18, 2018 2:28 AM CDT
China Snaps Up Record Amount of Russian Soy
A man walks at a soyfield in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.   (AP Photo/Roberto Candia)

The US-China trade dispute is excellent news for farmers—in Russia. Amid uncertainty over future US tariffs, China has canceled several shipments from American soybean producers and tripled the amount it is buying from Russia, Bloomberg reports. According to the Russian government's latest statistics, Russia sold 850,000 metric tons of soybeans to China between July last year and this week, compared to 340,000 tons in the whole of the 12 months before that period began. Analysts say that while Russia is a very minor soybean supplier compared to countries like Brazil, it is now likely to expand production in its far east, the Russian region closest to China.

Rep. Cheri Buston, an Illinois Democrat and a member of the House Agriculture Committee, slammed President Trump after the Russia statistics were released, accusing him of breaking his promise to "end the war on the American farmer," the Quad City Times reports. In brighter news for US farmers, China announced Friday that it is ending an anti-dumping investigation of US sorghum because it would have raised prices for China's livestock producers and eventually affected the cost of living for Chinese consumers, the AP reports. China started the probe in February after determining large volumes and falling prices were negatively affecting Chinese producers. Analysts say Beijing's announcement may be a sign that it is ready to make a deal to avoid a damaging trade war with the US. (More soybeans stories.)

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