By Mei Mei Chu
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has decreased its reliance on imports of U.S. farm goods since the trade war during President Donald Trump’s first term, a trend that is poised to continue after Beijing on Tuesday announced tariffs on a range of agricultural products in response to fresh U.S. tariffs.
China’s finance ministry said on Tuesday it would impose additional tariffs of between 10% and 15% on agricultural products ranging from soybeans and corn to dairy and beef.
Following are key details on China’s imports of U.S agricultural commodities and how the trade has evolved:
‘IRREPLACEABLE’ MARKET
China imported $29.25 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products in 2024, a 14% decline from the previous year, extending a 20% drop in 2023.
U.S. agricultural exports to China have declined since 2018 after Beijing slapped tariffs of up to 25% on soybeans, beef, pork, wheat, corn and sorghum in retaliation for duties on Chinese goods imposed by Trump.
Since 2018, Beijing has also diversified its agricultural imports, ramping up purchases from suppliers led by Brazil, and boosted domestic production in pursuit of greater food security.
Nonetheless, China remains the largest export market for American farmers. U.S. farm leaders and traders have described China as “irreplaceable” even as they look for other markets to offset declining Chinese demand.
SOYBEANS
About half of U.S. soybeans, the country’s largest agricultural export to China, were shipped to the Asian nation in 2024, totalling $12.8 billion in trade, according to U.S. data.
However, China has increasingly relied on cheaper and abundant Brazilian soybeans to reduce its dependence on U.S. supplies. This has resulted in the U.S. market share in China dropping to 21% in 2024 from 40% in 2016, according to Chinese customs data.
CORN
The U.S. was China’s dominant corn supplier for decades until Beijing approved Brazilian purchases in 2022.
China’s imports of U.S. corn plummeted to $561 million in 2024 from $2.6 billion in 2023 as domestic production increased, according to Chinese customs data.
While China’s corn demand has grown over the past decade to support its massive livestock industry, Brazil has rapidly surpassed the U.S. as China’s leading supplier.
MEAT AND OFFAL
China is a key market for U.S. exports of chicken legs, pork ears and offal – products for which there is little demand in the United States.
China bought $2.54 billion of meat and offal from the U.S. in 2024, down from $4.11 billion in 2021.
COTTON
China accounts for about a quarter of U.S cotton shipments in value. Shipments of U.S cotton into the world’s second largest economy stood at $1.49 billion in 2024, down from $1.57 billion in 2023, according to U.S Census Bureau data, as economic headwinds squeezed demand for textiles and garments.
SORGHUM
China’s imports of U.S. sorghum have risen slightly but the country is trying to reduce its dependence on the American feed grain which is mostly used as a corn substitute.
China imported $1.73 billion worth of sorghum from the U.S in 2024, up from $1.52 billion in 2014.
U.S sorghum exports to China are facing stiff competition from Australia and Argentina as well as cheaper Brazilian corn.
WHEAT
China imported nearly $600 million worth of U.S wheat in 2024, the highest in three years. But China has reduced overall wheat imports in recent months amid ample local supplies which is likely to impact U.S. shipments.
(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Naveen Thukral, Philippa Fletcher and Janane Venkatraman)
