A U.S. soybean export sale to China that was included in weekly U.S. Department of Agriculture data on Thursday reflected an export transaction that occurred in January, the USDA confirmed to Reuters in an email on Friday.

The USDA had included a 67,849-metric-ton sale to the world’s top soy importer in its sales data for the week ended September 4, noting that the transaction was reported late.

Grain traders had questioned the sale as China has been absent from the U.S. soybean market for months due to trade tensions between the two countries that are costing U.S. farmers billions of dollars in lost sales.

China has yet to buy any soybeans from the autumn U.S. harvest.

China imported 26.8 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans in 2024 valued at more than $12.6 billion, according to U.S. Census Bureau trade data.
Source: Reuters