OMAHA, Neb. — OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — American farmers welcomed China’s promise to buy some of their soybeans, but they cautioned this won’t solve all their problems as they continue to deal with soaring prices for fertilizer, tractors, repair parts and seeds.
The Chinese promise to buy at least 25 million metric tons of soybeans annually for next three years will bring their purchases back in line with where they were before President Donald Trump launched his trade war with China in the spring. But the 12 million metric tons that China plans to buy between now and January is only about half the typical annual volume.
“This is a very good thing. I’m very grateful,” said Iowa farmer Robb Ewoldt, who is a director with the United Soybean Board. “I don’t want to sound like a ungrateful farmer, but it doesn’t cure everything in the short term.”
Missouri farmer Bryant Kagay said it’s somewhat “crazy” that everyone is getting so excited about this deal when all it does is get farmers back to where they were before this trade war began.
“I don’t know why you would go to war on trade if you didn’t expect you could get a better outcome in the end,” said Kagay, who is part owner of Kagay Farms in Amity, Missouri,
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said China also agreed to remove all its retaliatory tariffs on American ag products, which should open the door for sales of other crops and beef. Plus, China promised to resume buying U.S. sorghum, which is another crop largely used for animal feed that depends on that market. More than half the sorghum and soybean crops are exported every year with much of that going to China.
Having these promises from China should make it easier for farmers to get the loans they need heading into next year, but Ewoldt said “I hope the administration doesn’t think that this solves everything in the next 6 to 8 months or ten months.”
Trump had promised to offer farmers a significant aid package this fall to help them survive the trade war with China, but it’s be