By Marcelo Teixeira
DES MOINES, Oct. 21 (Reuters) – There are no new sales of United States’ soybeans to China and nothing is expected to be loaded in coming weeks, according to information from U.S. soy industry groups American Soybean Association (ASA) and the U.S. Soybean Export Council.
Harvested soybeans are not moving to export hubs, and instead going to storage, representatives for the two U.S. soy industry groups told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday.
Some farmers could face financial collapse if there are no changes to the situation soon, they added.
“There is nothing on the books,” said Randy Miller, a soybean farmer and board member for the U.S. Soybean Export Council. “And the bigger factor is that it (soy) is not going anywhere, because flows are normally designed to move from the Midwest to other channels, but now they are backing out.”
China has been shunning U.S. soy amid a renewed U.S.-China trade war ignited by President Donald Trump. The Asian country is the biggest soy buyer in the world and it has relied on South America for its supplies, even as Brazil and Argentina are running low on stocks.
There is probably enough storage capacity in the U.S. for the soybeans currently, but it would be a problem if the current crop needs to be carried over to next season, the industry groups said.
But they fear for the financial situation of many farmers.
“The farmers that are already on the edge, financially, they (are) not going to be able to stand this,” said Morey Hill, a farmer and director at the American Soybean Association.
“The young farmers I am most worried about. They could over-finance, and then not be able to pay what they owe,” he said.
They said they do not have clarity yet about eventual steps by the administration to extend some funding for farmers.
(Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
