The actual trade figures don't matter and have not mattered for a while now
China soybean imports from Brazil surged in July, according to customs data, as China brought in 8.18 million tonnes of soybeans from Brazil last month - the figure is up by 27% from the 6.42 million tonnes imported in July 2019.
For the month of July, China imported 10.09 million tonnes of soybeans but only 38,331 tonnes came from the US. That particular figure is considerably lower than the 911,888 tonnes seen from the same period last year and down from the 267,553 tonnes in June.
The surge in imports from Brazil is said to be due to "good crush margins" in recent months. *wink* *wink*
But for the market, this has been the reality since the inception of the Phase One trade deal itself. The expectation when the deal was conceived was that it would have only lasted a few months to a year before it all comes crashing down.
The fact that both the US and China are willing to maintain the facade and keep up appearances is seemingly what is proving to be enough for the market at this stage i.e. the fact that there is no significant escalation in tensions for the most part.
