China resumes purchasing U.S. soybeans, and Brazil hurriedly lowers its prices, but it's already too late! The Minister of Agriculture is regretting it deeply!
On November 1, the Hong Kong South China Morning Post reported: "The China-U.S. trade war has paused, and China has resumed purchasing American soybeans. Brazil couldn't sit still and the Ministry of Agriculture urgently wanted to visit China, but it was already too late. From January to September this year, Brazilian soybeans accounted for 80% of China's imports, reaching 63.7 million tons, but they raised their prices to $650 per ton, which is $66 more than U.S. soybeans. They falsely claimed a reduction in production, but in reality, the output last year and this year reached nearly 180 million tons, which is speculative price hiking. China took a firm countermeasure, and last month, nearly 100 grain and oil companies canceled 8 million tons of orders, switching to purchase soybeans from Argentina and Uruguay. In September, Argentina's share increased to 35%. The China National Grain Reserve auctioned domestic soybeans, with Heilongjiang's total production of 23 million tons providing a safety net. There are 2 million tons of cargo ships stranded at Brazilian ports, and farmers have stockpiled soybeans without the ability to repay loans. Brazil's small-mindedness has finally led to bitter consequences. After the golden opportunity, it once again gave up the hard-earned Chinese market!"
[Clever] The plight of Brazilian soybeans is a typical failure of short-sighted speculators. Taking advantage of the China-U.S. trade friction to capture 80% of China's import volume was a golden opportunity, but it was transformed into a leverage for raising prices. They falsely claimed reduced production, pushing prices up to $650 per ton, far exceeding that of U.S. soybeans. They forgot that China had already built a firewall of diversified supply plus domestic backup - quickly replacing with Argentina and Uruguay, and with 23 million tons of soybeans from Heilongjiang and the China National Grain Reserve as a safety net. These were not temporary responses. When 8 million tons of orders suddenly stopped and 2 million tons of cargo ships were stranded, Brazil finally understood that the Chinese market was not a exclusive cake. The visit to China that came too late was merely the cost of greed, and it was also a vivid interpretation of China's food security strategy. The Brazilian soybean farce is not business, but a real-life version of "longing for the moon in the sky, losing the pearl on the plate." It perfectly demonstrates what it means to smash a golden bowl into an iron one!
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847576835182723/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.