EL7.AI
CommoditiesMedium•22 October 2026•
3 min read

U.S. Soybean Sales Jump to 2,841,200 Tons as China Leads Buyers

Key Facts

1Net U.S. soybean export sales for the 2026/2027 marketing year totaled about 2,841,200 metric tons.
2Sales to China totaled 2,178,600 metric tons, including 390,000 tons switched from unknown destinations.
3Actual U.S. soybean export shipments totaled 2,016,800 metric tons during the week.
4Actual shipments rose 75% week on week and 88% from the average for the previous four weeks.
5Saudi Arabia purchased 60,000 metric tons of U.S. soybean cake and meal during the reporting week.

Net U.S. soybean export sales jumped to 2,841,200 metric tons for the week ended October 15, 2026, with China leading buyers, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report. The sales were for the 2026/2027 marketing year and covered exporter activity from October 9 to 15. That compared with sales of 574,900 metric tons the previous week, according to Dow Jones, as reported by MarketScreener. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected sales of between 1.1 million and 3 million metric tons. The result was therefore within the forecast range, near its upper end, as actual U.S. soybean shipments also rose during the reporting week.

Sales of U.S. soybeans to China totaled 2,178,600 metric tons during the week, according to the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service. That total included 390,000 metric tons switched to China from unknown destinations. The department described that portion as "switched from unknown destinations," indicating a change in destination for previously contracted sales. Mexico purchased 232,200 metric tons of U.S. soybeans during the same period. The Chinese activity follows earlier EL7.AI coverage of China's purchase of between 8 and 10 cargoes of U.S. soybeans through state-owned companies.

Actual U.S. soybean export shipments totaled 2,016,800 metric tons during the reporting week, according to the USDA. Shipments rose 75% from the previous week, accompanying the jump in weekly sales activity. Shipments also exceeded the average for the previous four weeks by 88%, according to the comparison in the department's report. China received actual U.S. soybean shipments totaling 1,333,600 metric tons during the same week. China thus featured on both sides of U.S. soybean trade during the period, as a buyer in the sales figures and a destination for shipments that had actually been exported.

The weekly jump in sales and shipments comes against a backdrop of declining Chinese imports of U.S. soybeans from January to September, according to Chinese customs data reported by Reuters. Those imports totaled 11.06 million tons during that period. The volume fell 34% from the same period a year earlier, according to the news agency. In September alone, China imported 360,878 metric tons of U.S. soybeans, according to customs data. Those monthly and cumulative figures put the latest trade activity in the context of a year-on-year decline in Chinese imports of U.S.-origin soybeans from January to September.

Among other commodities, U.S. corn export sales for the 2026/27 marketing year rose to 1.53 million metric tons, according to the Dow Jones report published by MarketScreener. Corn sales increased 36% from the previous week, while wheat sales moved in the opposite direction. Wheat export sales fell 25% week on week to 239,600 metric tons, according to the same source. In soybean products, Saudi Arabia was among the leading buyers of U.S. soybean cake and meal, purchasing 60,000 metric tons during the reporting week, according to the USDA. The next weekly sales update is due on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern time, the department's regular publication time for its export sales report.