Buyers have booked 10 cargoes of Brazilian soybeans for December shipment and 10 for March-July with South American prices now quoted below offers being made for US cargoes, three traders said on Monday.

Brazilian soybeans had traded at higher prices than US supplies in recent weeks as steep Chinese tariffs curbed demand for US beans.

“Brazil is now cheaper than US Gulf, and buyers are taking this opportunity to book cargoes,” said a trader at an international company that runs oilseed processing plants in China. “We are seeing increased demand for Brazilian beans since last week.”

China to ramp up farm trade with US under new agreement

Beijing agreed to expand farm trade with Washington after US President Donald Trump met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea last week.

The White House subsequently released details of the agreement revealing China will purchase at least 12 million metric tons of US soybeans in the final two months of 2025 and at least 25 million tonnes in each of the next three years.

The market is now awaiting further announcements from Chinese authorities on potential reductions in import tariffs on US agricultural products.

“We have heard from the US side but nothing much has come from China,” said a second trader at a global trading company. “We cannot take trading decisions until China says it has removed the tariff on US soybeans.”

China’s state-owned COFCO made the country’s first purchases from this year’s US harvest last week, buying three cargoes.

Brazilian beans for December shipment are quoted at a premium of US$2.25 to US$2.30 over the January Chicago contract SF26, as compared with US$2.40 per bushel being offered for US beans to be shipped from US Gulf Coast, traders said.

Chicago soybean futures gained almost 1% on Monday, with prices climbing to a 15-month high as China’s return to the US market continued to buoy the market.