Corn, Wheat Jump as US Fuels China Crop Export Hopes Beyond Soy


(Bloomberg) — Grain futures in Chicago jumped on Monday after the White House outlined an additional commitment by China to buy US farm goods, stoking hopes that crop exports beyond soybeans could pick up.

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China has agreed to buy at least $17 billion annually in American agricultural produce through 2028, according to a fact sheet posted Sunday by the White House following US President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing. It said that would be in addition to a soybean purchase pledge from late 2025, when Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met in a bid to ease trade tensions between the two sides.

Most-active corn futures rose as much as 3.8% on Monday, the biggest intraday gain in six months, while wheat gained as much as 3%. Soybeans also rose at open. The move marks a reversal from last week, when prices plunged on a lack of detail over agricultural purchases during the summit.

Sunday’s announcement appears particularly bullish for wheat and corn futures given the purchases will come on top of the initial soybean deal and likely spread into other agricultural products, said Joe Davis, a director of commodities at brokerage Futures International in Illinois. The US also said China has restored market access for US beef by renewing export registrations for more than 400 US facilities and adding new listings.

“The White House dropped the headline that the bulls were looking for on Friday,” Davis said.

The Asian nation, the top US soybean export customer, had held off on purchases for much of 2025 amid a broader trade dispute between the nations. That changed as the sides reached a truce during a summit between Trump and Xi in South Korea, with China meeting an initial 12-million metric ton soybean purchase pledge and the White House saying the country had agreed to buy at least 25 million tons tons of soybeans annually through 2028. The pact reached after last week’s meetings appears to build on that commitment.

A resumption in Chinese imports of US corn would break a roughly two-year lull in significant purchases, US Department of Agriculture figures show. Chinese buyers returned for US wheat after Trump and Xi’s 2025 summit, but purchases remained at limited levels, while sorghum sales have held at a regular pace.

China’s Ministry of Commerce over the weekend said Beijing and Washington will adopt a series of measures, including mutually cutting levies on certain products, to expand bilateral trade in areas including agriculture, without giving more specifics.

Still, the Asian nation has not mentioned the agricultural commitment in its official statements following Trump’s visit and has never confirmed the prior pledges on soybean purchases. The White House also said the $17-billion figure would be prorated for 2026 agricultural purchases.

Traders were hopeful that the summit would produce a comprehensive deal and had priced in more significant outcome than what the US administration announced, said Chris Nikolaou, general manager at Advantage Grain. Plus, crop markets remain disrupted by the fuel and fertilizer price spikes from the war in the Middle East.

Corn prices last week fell nearly 5%, the most in four months. Prices for the crop — as well as wheat and soybeans — remain below recent peaks.

“We’ve still got the same backdrop we had last week,” Nikolaou said. “The Strait of Hormuz is closed, the Iran conflict continues.”

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