China Currently Stepping Up Annual Purchases of Commodities

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. agricultural exports to China are projected to total $13 billion this fiscal year (FY2020), an increase of almost $3 billion from 2019. This rise in expected exports is primarily due to growth in Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans and pork with expected additional purchases of sorghum and cotton also playing a role.

According to the Economic Research Service (ERS), this growth is being fueled by a Phase One trade agreement between the U.S. and China which has resulted in relaxed barriers to trade. Portions of China’s economy are anticipated to continue growing while its economy as a whole is still being negatively affected by the global slowdown, especially with respect to international trade.

Even amidst the negative economic effects of COVID-19 on China’s consumption of U.S. agricultural goods, their purchases of U.S. pork, soybeans, cotton, and other products rose in the first half of FY 2020, and at this pace, U.S. exports are expected to increase by $2.9 billion from FY 2019, when the value of U.S. exports to China had fallen to $9.3 billion (in 2019 dollars), the lowest point since FY 2009.