China books at least 120,000 tonnes of French wheat, the largest volume since 2024
Key Facts
COFCO International booked wheat cargoes for China during the week before the news was published on November 11, bringing the Chinese buyer back to French wheat as futures declined. Briefs Finance, citing people familiar with the matter, said the French cargoes totaled at least 120,000 tonnes. The volume may represent the most China has taken from France since 2024, according to customs data cited by the source. The bookings include at least two French cargoes and one Argentine cargo, with the size of the shipment from Argentina unspecified. Diversifying the origins between the two countries reflects a return of actual Chinese demand to the market, but the booking does not establish that the cargoes have been fully imported.
The source did not give the size of each French cargo separately, but said the booked cargoes totaled at least 120,000 tonnes. That puts the volume in a range that could make it the largest China has taken from France since 2024, based on a comparison using customs data. In September, China imported about 60,000 tonnes of French wheat, according to the same source. This means the new bookings exceed that month’s imports by about two times in total volume, though the figures cover different periods: September imports versus cargoes booked during one week. The report did not specify when the cargoes would arrive or when they would be recorded in import data.
Briefs Finance linked the timing of the purchase to a decline in Chicago wheat futures, saying the drop removed the war risk premium associated with intensified fighting around the Black Sea. This account describes a shift in one element of wheat pricing, as concerns related to the fighting eased alongside falling futures. The source did not attribute the bookings to expectations of peace talks, but pointed to the fading risk premium as prices declined. In a broader pricing context, Syngenta Canada cited the Food and Agriculture Organization’s monthly food price index, which showed global cereal prices fell 4.5% in October. The concurrent declines in futures and the cereal index provide market context for COFCO’s bookings, without the source specifying a particular price for the deals.
The bookings came in a month when Chinese trade posted strong growth in both directions. Imports rose 41.6% year over year in October, while exports increased 35.2%, according to figures reported by the Associated Press. Import growth outpaced export growth, placing the wheat purchase in a month marked by a larger annual expansion in imports. Still, China’s trade surplus remained large, at $105.3 billion in October, compared with $133.5 billion in September. In the first ten months of the year, the surplus reached $1.04 trillion, the agency said.
COFCO International is COFCO Corp’s overseas trading unit, according to Briefs Finance, but it declined to comment on the deals. The previous month, COFCO Corp inquired about securing U.S. soft red winter wheat for shipment to China, signaling that it was seeking other supply sources alongside France and Argentina. The source provided no details on the outcome of that inquiry or on any subsequent U.S. bookings. In the wheat demand market during the week the news was published, Algeria, another major buyer, was issuing a tender to purchase wheat. A Moody’s Analytics economist said in comments reported by the Associated Press that Chinese exports are likely to remain strong for the rest of the year, driven by electronics and automobiles.