China made its largest one-day purchase of US corn on record on Tuesday, its second massive purchase for the agricultural staple in less than a week as it tries to comply with its deal with America.
China on Friday increased its corn and soybean import forecasts for the current season, as the country is expected to step up purchases from the US.
The Agriculture Department said private exporters reported that China bought 1.7 million tons of corn for shipment in the 2020/21 marketing year that begins on Sept 1.
The sale eclipsed the previous single-day record sale to China of 1.4 million tons of corn, set in December 1994, according to USDA data.
The deal follows a sale of 1.3 million tons to China, spread out over two marketing years, that the USDA announced on July 10.
China also booked deals to buy 129,000 tons of soybeans in the 2020/21 marketing year.
Manufacturing is recovering, but consumer spending is weak. Forecasters say exports are likely to slump as demand for masks and other medical supplies recedes and US and European retailers cancel orders.
Trump said Friday that work on the second stage of a deal aimed at ending the tariff war is a low priority because relations were “severely damaged” by the Chinese Communist Party’s handling of the pandemic.
The two sides signed a “phase one” agreement in January to postpone further penalties, but tariff increases already imposed stayed in place.
To view the original article, please click here