【By Observer Net, Qi Qian】

On September 1st every year, American farmers would be in high spirits, going to the fields to harvest soybeans. Because this is the time when Chinese buyers start placing orders.

Now, American soybeans have matured, but Chinese buyers are no longer purchasing them, turning instead to South American countries like Brazil.

Foreseeing a bleak future of "blood loss" for American farmers, two leading Republican leaders from Iowa state could no longer sit idle.

Iowa is a traditional agricultural state in the United States. According to local media, the Des Moines Register, on September 17th, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley and Iowa State Agriculture Secretary Mike Naegel both spoke out, urging the Trump administration to quickly reach a trade agreement with China to bring the world's largest soybean buyer back to the U.S. soybean market.

Naegel told reporters that day that the disappearance of Chinese buyers had caused a significant drop in U.S. soybean prices and profits.

"The price is far from what we expected," said Naegel, adding that in addition to the falling prices, the cost of growing crops for American farmers "remains persistently high."

He frankly said, "This is really death by a thousand cuts for our farmers. We need China to sit at the negotiating table with the U.S. and reach a trade agreement."

The Des Moines Register reported that China is usually the largest buyer of U.S. soybeans, importing 13.2 billion dollars worth last year. As the second-largest soybean producer in the U.S., after Illinois, Iowa would suffer a heavy blow if it lost its Chinese buyers.

Video screenshot of American farmers harvesting mature soybeans

During a phone call with journalists on the same day, Grassley complained that the Trump administration prioritized discussing TikTok issues with China, while ignoring the most critical issue of farmers. He said, "This week's focus is TikTok, but they should have also talked about soybeans. We must find a market for soybeans..."

According to the Des Moines Register, since the Trump administration came into power, it has raised tariffs globally, but these high tariffs have increased the price of U.S. soybeans, causing Chinese buyers to quickly shift to South American countries like Brazil and Argentina.

The American Soybean Association previously stated that Chinese buyers refused to place orders because of the price, as tariffs made U.S. soybeans 20% more expensive than those from South America.

The association's chairman, Caleb Ragland, a farmer from Kentucky, wrote to President Trump in August, stating that soybean farmers were under "extreme financial pressure" and "standing on the edge of a trade and financial cliff," unable to survive in the prolonged trade war.

Naegel also mentioned that in addition to the reduced sales, farmers were struggling with increasing production costs.

"They are spending more money on inputs, land, equipment, seeds, everything, labor, fuel," said Naegel, adding that now it was necessary to think about how to reduce production costs and explore and release market opportunities, including finding new buyers.

According to reports, over the past few months, fertilizer prices in the U.S. have continued to rise. The Corn Growers Association stated that fertilizers alone increased corn farmers' operating costs by 36% this year. Grassley, meanwhile, promised to try to find out the reasons behind the rising fertilizer prices.

The Des Moines Register noted in its report that although Grassley and Naegel expressed their intention to urge the Trump administration to negotiate with China, neither directly commented on the Trump administration's tariff policy.

The Trump administration's unilateral initiation of trade conflicts has caused heavy losses to U.S. agricultural products. U.S. traders believe that merely extending the tariff suspension period is unlikely to boost purchases, as China's import tariff on U.S. soybeans remains at 23%, making them uncompetitive.

In recent years, soybeans from Brazil, Argentina, and other countries have rapidly filled the gap left by U.S. soybeans in the Chinese market. Customs General Administration data showed that in 2024, China imported about 105 million tons of soybeans, of which 22.13 million tons came from the U.S., a 5.7% decrease compared to the previous year; 74.65 million tons came from Brazil, an increase of 6.7%; and 4.1 million tons came from Argentina.

According to a report by Reuters on August 29, due to the ongoing Sino-U.S. trade conflict, Chinese soybean importers will increase procurement from Argentina and Uruguay in the next year to fill the U.S. supply gap. The report stated that the increase in soybean supplies from the two Latin American countries will overlap with China's large-scale imports from Brazil, creating a combined effect that will further hit U.S. exporters.

Usually, the fourth quarter is a key sales period for U.S. soybeans, during which newly harvested soybeans will gradually come to market. In previous years, by this time in September, Chinese buyers typically completed about 14% of their annual soybean purchase volume before the U.S. soybean harvest season began.

But this year, China has not yet booked any U.S. soybeans for delivery in the fourth quarter.

Reuters pointed out that although U.S. soybean industry players have been trying to find other buyers, no country can match China.

Jim Satter, CEO of the American Soybean Export Association, previously stated that U.S. industry players have tried to reduce their dependence on China, but China remains crucial for them. "So we have been encouraging the U.S. government to work with China to reach a new agreement," he said.

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