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USSEC Chairman: China vital to U.S. ag trade

The chairman of the U.S. Soybean Export Council says China continues to be an important trading partner for American producers.

Stan Born tells Brownfield China is the world’s largest soy consumer and the U.S. offers a low-carbon, high quality product. “China consumes 60% of all soy that gets traded, regardless of the source of origin,” he said, “so you cannot ignore a market of that size.”

He says the agricultural trading relationship with China remains strong despite some challenges and tensions between the two countries. “We are very blessed here in the U.S.,” Born said. “We produce more than we need. In the case of China, they have a deficit and they want to be able to, from a food security strategy standpoint, purchase protein.”

China’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs recently visited with U.S. officials in Washington, D.C., and Born says the conversations were positive. “They were actually looking and asking for, ‘hey, what are the things that we could do better in our relationship?’ They were looking for things that weren’t working to our expectation.”

Born says he expects similar collaboration to take place this year to help bolster the ag relationship.