Soybean futures rose more than 1% to approach $12 per bushel in mid-May, recovering from the losses recorded on May 15, after new details emerged from President Donald Trump’s two-day summit in China on agricultural trade commitments. According to the White House, China agreed to purchase at least $17 billion in US agricultural products annually through 2028, on top of previously announced soybean purchase deals.
Following Trump’s meeting with President Xi last year, China had initially pledged to buy 12 million metric tons of soybeans, along with a broader commitment to purchase 25 million tons per year for three years. While the latest announcement was broadly welcomed by US farmers looking for clearer demand signals after the summit, many still contend with sustained pressure from relatively low crop prices and higher production costs in recent years.
Those difficulties have been compounded by Trump’s tariffs and by rising fertilizer prices, which are partly tied to the wider conflict in the Middle East.
