May 22, 2025
Brazil industry group: China still top market for Brazilian soybeans
China has been a top destination for Brazilian soybean exports over the years, taking about 70-80 % of the country's total exports, with huge potential remaining for future cooperation, Maurício Buffon, president of the Brazilian Soybeans Growers Association (Aprosoja Brasil), said in an interview with the Global Times.
The trade partnership between Brazil and China is very important for Brazil, Buffon said, noting that the country's product offers the best cost-benefit ratio to cater to the vast Chinese market. "Brazilian soybeans are already extremely competitive due to their quality, high productivity and the lowest possible environmental impact compared with other producing countries," he said.
In early April, China signed soybean purchase contracts with Brazil totalling at least 2.4 million tonnes - nearly one-third of China's average monthly soybean imports, the Securities Times reported. "We saw an increase in demand from China in early April, demand that was already expected due to higher consumption in China," Buffon said.
Even after a recent joint statement between China and the US that has led to tariff removal or suspension, Buffon said that Brazilian soybean exporters may not feel an immediate impact, noting that Brazilian soybeans offer more competitive prices.
"Since planting of the US crop is already well advanced, there is no time for US producers to prepare an increase in planted area and a substantial increase in supply. In the short term, the effect is small, but by 2025/2026 there may be a limitation in demand for Brazilian soybeans," he said.
Data also show that China remains the major buyer of Brazilian soybeans. According to the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture and Supply, total soybean production from the 2023/2024 harvest was 147 million tonnes and about 87 million tonnes were exported to China. For the 2025/2026 harvest, of the 165 million tonnes of soybeans that Brazil is expected to produce, 110 million tonnes are expected to be exported, of which China will take an important part, according to the Brazilian industry representative.
The remarks were made as bilateral relations have been further strengthened, with economic and trade ties being a core, following the state visit of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to China last week, during which 20 cooperation documents were signed, covering a wide range of fields, including science and technology, agriculture and finance.
Brazilian soybeans are just an epitome of the diversified bilateral trade relationship. In an interview with the Xinhua News Agency, Jorge Viana, president of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, discussed Brazil's ongoing efforts to diversify its exports to China, its largest trading partner since 2009. He pointed to the growth of sectors such as animal protein, sugar, cellulose and coffee, alongside traditional exports like soybeans, oil and iron ore. This diversification highlights the increasing breadth of economic ties between the two countries.
China has also ramped up efforts to diversify its sources of agricultural products. On April 28, Zhao Chenxin, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, said that China's food supply remains "fully secure" and "unaffected" in response to a question about the impact of US tariffs on China's food supply.
Zhao voiced strong confidence in China's ability to maintain grain self-sufficiency and ensure national food security, pointing to sustained efforts such as boosting production capacity and diversifying import sources. Noting China's grain output, which exceeded 1.4 trillion jin in 2024, Zhao said that "the Chinese people's rice bowls are firmly in our own hands."
- Global Times
