# China seeks trade edge by shunning US soy for first time since 1990s | The Straits Times

> China had not booked any U.S. soybean cargoes at the start of the export season, the first time since at least the 1990s, according to USDA data. Beijing is using agricultural purchases as leverage in a broader trade dispute with Washington, while holding healthy stockpiles.

- Date: 2025-09-19 · published 2025-09-19T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: trade · region China · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/14638-china-seeks-trade-edge-by-shunning-us-soy-for-first-time-since-1990s-the
- Commodities: [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md)

## Why it matters

China is the world's largest soybean buyer, so withholding U.S. purchases removes a major source of export demand and pressures U.S. soybean prices. Its ability to wait on stockpiles prolongs the uncertainty.

## Read by commodity

- SOY: bearish ▼

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SOY | 2018-12-24 | [China imports zero US soybeans in Nov for first time since trade war started](https://feedsoft.ai/events/61444-china-imports-zero-us-soybeans-in-nov-for-first-time-since-trade-war-started.md) | -0.3% | +3.4% |
| SOY | 2024-05-14 | [What the US-China trade looks like by sector \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/14751-what-the-us-china-trade-looks-like-by-sector-reuters.md) | +3.5% | -2.3% |
| SOY | 2025-10-20 | [China imports no US soybeans in September for first time in seven years \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/14630-china-imports-no-us-soybeans-in-september-for-first-time-in-seven-years-reuters.md) | +2.2% | +9.1% |
| SOY | 2019-01-21 | [When it comes to soy, China is getting more from the trade truce](https://feedsoft.ai/events/61131-when-it-comes-to-soy-china-is-getting-more-from-the-trade-truce.md) | +0.7% | -1.7% |
| SOY | 2020-05-28 | [China securing Brazilian soy with US trade tensions rising](https://feedsoft.ai/events/53167-china-securing-brazilian-soy-with-us-trade-tensions-rising.md) | +1.1% | +2.6% |

## Sources

- straitstimes.com: https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/china-seeks-trade-edge-by-shunning-us-soy-in-first-since-1990s

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.