Iowa State report says China’s Phase One ag purchases will top $31B

News

Iowa State report says China’s Phase One ag purchases will top $31B

Photo credit: Iowa State University

An Iowa State University report says China is on track to import more than 31 billion dollars in ag products from the U.S. under the first year of the Phase One trade agreement.

ISU economist Wendong Zhang says that is substantially higher than some previous estimates.

“Even though this number is still lower than the promised value of around 35 to 36 billion dollars, if realized, this will be the highest watermark—the highest quantity—that we have ever sold to China,” Zhang says.

What is also significant, Zhang says, is that much of the growth is coming from commodities other than soybeans.

“We are seeing record levels of exports of corn, beef and pork. Soybean sales are actually relatively flat compared to the 2017 baseline.”

Because it seems to be working well, Zhang expects the Biden Administration to take a hands-off approach to the Phase One agreement, at least for the time being.

The report on Chinese purchases was prepared by the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at ISU.

AUDIO: Wendong Zhang

.