China Relied on Brazil for 27% of Ag Imports

When China says it is "diversifying" its sources of agricultural imports, it really means they are shifting purchases from the United States to Brazil. During calendar year 2023 Brazil had a 27-percent share of China's agricultural imports while the United States had a 15-percent share. This reversed the two countries' positions back in 2014 when the U.S. share was 24 percent and Brazil's was 19 percent. 

Source: Analysis of China customs data

Brazil had a 69-percent share of China's soybean imports in 2023, up from 62 percent the previous year. Brazil's share of corn imports went from 0 to 47 percent in one year after China approved Brazil as a corn supplier in late 2022. Brazil's share of China's sugar imports was 50 percent, and Brazil's shares were 46 percent for poultry, 41 percent for beef, 28 percent for pork, and 28 percent for cotton. 

Other countries that were leading suppliers of China's agricultural imports included Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Indonesia with shares of 4-to-6 percent during 2023--still way behind the U.S. and Brazil. Russia, Argentina, and Chile each supplied 2-to-3 percent. The entire Southeast Asian region had a 15.6-percent share, similar to the U.S. share. The European Union had a 10-percent share. All of Africa supplied a combined 2.4 percent and South Asia supplied 1.4 percent.