A combine and a grain cart work in a soybean field of Pellett family's farm in Atlantic, a small city in Iowa, the United States, Oct. 16, 2019.Photo:Xinhua

China has not halted purchases of US soybeans as some media reports speculated, and new purchases are ongoing, a senior executive of the US Soybean Export Council (USSEC) told the Global Times in an exclusive interview.

"We have no confirmation that the Chinese government asked Chinese importers to halt purchases and, in fact, new purchases have been announced this week," Jim Sutter, CEO of the USSEC, told the Global Times in a written reply sent on Thursday.

China has asked its state-owned firms to halt purchases of soybeans and pork from the US amid escalating tensions, Reuters reported on Monday, citing relevant sources.

"China is still buying US soybeans," China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday, noting that Chinese state-owned companies had purchased at least 180,000 tons of soybeans from the US on Monday alone.

The US is typically the top exporter of soybeans to China during the autumn season. "As we look ahead to our harvest and shipping window this fall, we are optimistic that China will honor the phase one trade agreement to substantially increase imports of US farm products, including soybeans," Sutter said.

Sutter holds an optimistic attitude that China will return as a significant buyer of US soybeans in 2020 with a total volume nearing levels seen in previous years, which would be a significant increase compared to recent years.    

US soybean exports to China amounted to 12.7 million tons for the 2019-20 marketing year. At this time last year, accumulated US soybean exports to China were at 6.6 million tons- down considerably from pre-trade war levels of around 30 million tons, data from the USSEC showed.

Global Times