As noted in the weekly Commodity Report posted in this edition, China purchased 1 million metric tons (36.8 million bushels) of soybeans from Brazil during the first week of February by state-controlled national brokers Cofco and Sinograin. Purchases were made despite recent signing of the Phase One Trade Agreement that mandated restoration of soybean imports above the 2017 level.
China placed the orders based on a competitive price relative to U.S. soybeans based on a decline in the value of the Brazilian Real relative to the U.S. dollar.