Up next
A House by Any Other Name
Rising agricultural exports to China are helping revive the fortunes of some agribusiness companies and farmers, after the coronavirus pandemic upended the U.S. farm sector.
China’s effort to boost pork production, and buy more U.S. grain and meat following this year’s U.S.-China trade agreement, are driving a surge of U.S. farm goods across the Pacific in recent months, according to government estimates. Growing demand around the world for food staples like vegetable oil and starch are keeping U.S. agriculture companies’ processing plants humming, industry executives said.
“China has come roaring back from the pandemic,” said Juan Luciano, chief executive of Archer Daniels Midland Co. , on a conference call last week. “Their recovery has surprised everybody.” Grain giants ADM and Bunge Ltd. both attributed rising profits during their most recent quarters in part to higher commodities exports.
Greg Heckman, CEO of Bunge, said higher demand had the company’s soybean processing plants running at a record pace in recent months, churning out feed ingredients for Chinese hog farmers racing to rebuild the country’s pork supply after a deadly swine disease cut deeply into the China’s pork supplies. A spokeswoman for closely held Cargill Inc., which doesn’t disclose its profits, said China’s need for grain is likely to persist.
U.S. pork exports to China over the first eight months of 2020 totaled more than $1.5 billion, representing a record, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. China’s purchased or contracted sales of corn are at an all-time high of 8.7 million tons, the USDA and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in an October report, and U.S. soybean sales to China have surged since early August.
