Two people familiar with the situation said that Chinese soybean buyers asked U.S. sellers to postpone shipments scheduled for July to August, raising concerns about cancellations that stirred the market last year.
The contract was renegotiated at a time when the world's two largest economies were caught in a protracted trade war. The trade war prompted China to slash oil seed imports from its second largest supplier since mid-last year.
In the second half of 2018, China's soybean imports from the United States were virtually exhausted. From December last year to March this year, during the temporary truce in the trade dispute, the Chinese government agreed to buy nearly 14 million tons of soybeans from American farmers.
More than 6 million tons have been shipped to China, but about 7 million tons purchased before talks broke down in May still need to be shipped.
A source with direct knowledge of the situation said that Chinese state-owned enterprises were trying to extend about 2 million tons of July cargo to August.
"This is not a complete cancellation of the order. But it's strange that [state-owned enterprises] suddenly want to postpone all shipments in July by one month, "the source said.
An American export broker confirmed that a Chinese buyer had approached him to ask for a delay in the sale of his goods and that he was working with a Chinese buyer to implement the request.
The two sources declined to give their names because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
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