China Remains Top Market for Brazilian Soybeans, Record-High Shipments Expected in Coming Months

Dragon Media News Desk

China remains the largest export market for Brazilian soybeans, with Brazil’s soybean industry expecting shipments to the Chinese market to remain at historically high levels in the coming months.

According to the Brazilian Association of Soybean Growers, Aprosoja Brasil, soybean exports to China have remained exceptionally strong. Data from China’s General Administration of Customs showed that China imported 12.08 million metric tons of soybeans from Brazil in June, an increase of 13.7 percent from the same month a year earlier.

During the same period, China imported 1.27 million metric tons of soybeans from the United States, down 20.9 percent year-on-year.

Aprosoja Brasil said China imported 34.75 million metric tons of Brazilian soybeans during the first six months of the year, representing an increase of 9.1 percent compared with the same period last year.

According to Brazil’s official foreign trade data system, Comex Stat, 48.32 million metric tons of soybeans were shipped from Brazil to China between January and June. The corresponding figure for the same period in 2025 was 48.41 million metric tons.

The association said the difference between the two sets of figures mainly reflects differences in the timing and methodology used to record departures, cargoes in transit, arrivals and customs clearance.

Despite these statistical differences, Aprosoja Brasil said the broader economic conclusion remains unchanged: soybean trade between Brazil and China continues at historically strong levels.

Brazil’s total soybean exports reached 69.57 million metric tons in the first half of the year, setting a new record for the period.

The association noted that strong export volumes help farmers market their crops, although record exports do not necessarily translate into record profit margins for producers.

China is the world’s largest soybean importer. Imported soybeans are used mainly for edible oil production and animal feed. In addition to Brazil, China imports soybean-related products from countries including the United States, Argentina, Uruguay and Canada.

Brazil is one of the world’s leading soybean producers and exporters, with China by far its largest overseas market.

According to Aprosoja Brasil, China purchased 85.4 million metric tons of Brazilian soybeans in 2025, accounting for approximately 79 percent of Brazil’s total soybean exports.

The association described the soybean trade between China and Brazil as highly strategic and mutually complementary.

For Brazilian farmers, strong Chinese demand provides market scale, sales liquidity and greater capacity for long-term planning. For China, Brazil offers large, competitive and reliable supplies.

Brazil’s crop calendar also differs from those of other major producing countries, helping China diversify supply throughout the year.

Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said policy changes, including unilateral U.S. tariff measures, have disrupted American soybean farmers and other agricultural producers.

He noted that China has been diversifying agricultural imports from countries including Brazil and Argentina in an effort to reduce risks associated with trade uncertainty.

Aprosoja Brasil emphasized that the China–Brazil soybean partnership should not be viewed simply as a temporary consequence of trade disputes involving third countries.

Instead, the association described it as a structural and mutually beneficial relationship built on the complementarity between Brazil’s large production capacity and China’s substantial demand for food, animal feed and protein.

Brazil has completed the harvest of a record soybean crop estimated at approximately 180.6 million metric tons this year, according to the association.

Brazilian soybean exports are expected to reach 116.3 million metric tons in 2026, which would also represent a new record.

Aprosoja Brasil said the country has sufficient supplies to continue serving the Chinese market strongly in the coming months.

Although monthly export volumes may fluctuate as supplies from Northern Hemisphere producers become more prominent during the second half of the year, the association expects Brazilian soybean shipments to China to remain at historically high levels.