Chinese importers signed letters of intent to purchase 13.18 million metric tons of U.S. Soy, valued at $5.3 billion, at a signing ceremony held in Des Moines, Iowa on September 24.
24 frame and sales contracts were inked between Chinese customers and U.S. shippers, which included Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., Bunge, Cargill Inc. and Louis Dreyfus Group, among others. The cargoes are set for delivery by August 31, 2016, according to USSEC CEO Jim Sutter.
At the ceremony, held at the Ruan Center in Des Moines, Mr. Sutter talked about the great collaboration and partnership that has existed between China and the U.S. Soy industry for 33 years, before introducing Iowa Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds.
“Events like today symbolize the accumulation of trust and mutual admiration” between the two countries,” stated Lt. Gov. Reynolds, before adding that these agreements provide “tremendous mutual benefit to both of us.”
USSEC Chairman Laura Foell, who welcomed the trade delegation, remarked that trade volume to China rose from a mere 140,000 metric tons in 1995 to 30 million metric tons in 2014, with an annual average growth rate of 147 percent in just 20 years. Ms. Foell touted China’s food security as the most important benefit of trade between the two countries, saying that China’s food security was achieved “by way of an open and free trade of soybeans to supply the increasing need for soy from China’s livestock and feed industries.”
Bian Zhenhu, president of the China Chamber of Commerce of Foodstuffs and Native Produce (CFNA), said that China’s economy has entered a “new normal” and reminded attendees that although the country’s GDP is slowing down, the Chinese market is “still growing strong.” With more than 27,400 couples getting married daily, he predicted that consumption will continue to increase, providing more opportunities for U.S. Soy.
After the signing ceremony, American Soybean Association (ASA) chairman Ray Gaesser proposed a toast to the group, expressing the congratulations of the U.S. Soy industry, saying, “ . . .I’d like to echo what my fellow soybean farmers have said. It makes us proud to know that the soybeans we grow are meeting your needs.”