Record soybean harvest expected, but farmers can't sell it because of trade war with China - Entrepreneur Generations

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says this year's domestic soybean harvest will be the largest ever at a projected 4.6 billion bushels, but farmers may have a hard time selling their crop because of the ongoing trade war with China. "Selling soybeans to China has nearly halted with the tariff dispute resulting in a growing stockpile and the lowest prices for farmers in more than a decade," The Associated Press reports.

Some farmers, hoping for an end to the trade war soon, are refusing to sell their harvest and instead are storing their soybeans in bins, silos, shipping containers, or even piles on the ground covered by tarps to keep them dry.

"The hope is that over the next few months, trade tensions will ease, and China, the top market for the oilseed, will start buying from American farmers again, lifting depressed prices in the process. A bushel of soybeans fetched just $8.87 on Friday. Eight months ago, before trade tensions led to tariffs, it was about $2 more," Shruti Singh, Isis Almeida, and Mario Parker report for Bloomberg News. "The risks are great. While futures trading indicates higher prices next year, that could change depending on trade negotiations and rising supplies. Moreover, the crop could go bad on them. Soybeans are not corn. They don't store nearly as well. If not kept super dry, they can take on moisture fast. Rot quickly follows, making them worthless — and gross."

But many farmers don't have much choice but to store their harvest. China was the U.S.'s biggest soy customer until the trade war, but with sales to China down 90 percent from last year, there aren't enough buyers domestically or abroad to buy the American harvest, Bloomberg News reports.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2qNn4Ws Record soybean harvest expected, but farmers can't sell it because of trade war with China - Entrepreneur Generations

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