Soybean trade sees good prospects if Sino-US dispute settled properly

Total soybean exports from the United States to China would decline by at least 20 percent for the 2017-18 marketing year, compared to a historic record of 36 million metric tons in the last marketing year, if the trade dispute between China and US cannot be solved in a timely manner.

Zhang Xiaoping, country director for China at the US Soybean Export Council, said current trade tensions have already pushed Chinese importers to turn elsewhere for soybean supplies, although US soybeans are competitive in both price and quality.

"US farmers believe the right strategy to solve trade imbalances should be to further expand trade instead of restrictive measures such as punitive tariffs. So they have been making an effort to support all policies aimed at expanding trade," he said.