Chinese companies signed agreements with U.S. agricultural exporters on Monday to buy 4.83 million tons of U.S. soybeans valued at about $2.8 billion.
At a ceremony hosted by the U.S. Soybean Export Council, officials from Chinese companies including COFCO, Sinograin, and Chinatex signed 13 separate agreements with representatives from Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge, Columbia Grain and others.
The soybeans will be shipped in the current marketing year, which began on Sept. 1, and likely before the next South American crop begins flooding the market in March, said a trader at the event.