US seeks to offset loss in soybean sales
US SOYBEAN exporters have stepped up their marketing offensive to boost shipments to Thailand and other Asian countries in the wake of the US-China trade war.
Jim Sutter, CEO of US Soybean Export Council (USSEC), said during a recent visit to Bangkok that China’s purchases of American soybeans had dropped sharply as a result of the trade stand-off.
As the world’s largest soybean producer with last year’s output at 125 million tonnes, the US exports as much as 60 per cent of its domestic production. Of that, exports to China totalled 30 million tonnes during September 2017-2018, but shipments bound for the Chinese market have since declined significantly to only 5 million tonnes this year.
This has prompted the US soybean sector to find new markets to offset the losses.
According to Sutter, who recently led the delegation of soybean farmers and exporters to China, Thailand and Vietnam, US soybean exports to Thailand have increased 30 per cent over the past year to over 2 million tonnes annually.
Soybeans are mainly used for animal feed, the human food industry and other industries.
Besides Thailand, other major markets include Vietnam, Japan, Korea, and European countries. Myanmar and India are also seen as new markets for US soybeans to offset the reduced exports to China.
The US and China earlier agreed to a 90-day truce in the hope of reaching a deal to end their bilateral trade tensions by March 1, 2019.
Sutter said the US soybean sector hopes to re-energise export markets with quality products in terms of purity, protein level and the option to choose among genetically-modified (GM) and non-GM soybeans.
The non-modified beans are 10-15 per cent more expensive than GM products.
Competition from Brazil
Sutter sees free trade as key to the success of US soybean growers, who seek to sell more overseas than in domestic markets. They face competition from Brazil, with 2018 output of 122 million tonnes.
Along with product quality, US producers also focus on sustainable farming methods, he said.
Earlier, Thailand was put on a US list of 16 countries with significant trade surpluses with the US. For the first 10 months of 2018, Thailand’s trade with the US totalled US$37 billion (Bt1.16 trillion) with the US recording a trade deficit of $16.2 billion (Bt510 billion) with Thailand.
Previously, the Trump administration threatened to slap high tariff rates or impose non-tariff barriers against Thai exports in a bid to reduce the US’s trade deficits with key trading partners.
