Brazil May Buy Up to 1 Million Metric Tons of U.S. Soybeans

  • U.S.-China trade tumult turns export giant Brazil into a buyer
  • Importing cheap American supply to replace higher-cost exports
Soybeans are unloaded from a Case IH Agricultural Equipment Inc. combine harvester at dusk during harvest in Buda, Illinois, U.S., on Friday, Sept. 29, 2017.Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
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Brazil, the world’s biggest soybean exporter, may import as much as 1 million metric tons from its main rival in global sales in a twist of the topsy-turvy trade row between the U.S. and China.

As American soybean shipments to China ease, they’re being discounted. At the same time, rising demand for Brazilian beans has exports fetching a premium, leaving reduced supplies for domestic processors. That means some buyers in Brazil may need to rely on farmers in Iowa rather than Mato Grosso.