Eastern Shore Agriculture—Especially Soybeans—Hard Hit by Trade War with China

Jane Jewell • November 14, 2018

Last winter, before the trade wars began, US soybeans were selling at almost $11 a bushel. It would surprise many Americans to know that in 2017, soybeans were the largest US agricultural export, bigger than corn or wheat. And China bought almost 60% of those American soybeans. But not anymore. China has retaliated and put tariffs on American soybeans in response to the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on many Chinese products exported to the US.

By the end of last week, the price per bushel had dropped to under $9 for a bushel. In Sept 2018, soybean exports were down 90% from the same time last year. Now China is looking to Brazil, Argentina and other countries for their soybeans. The US was already in competition with these other soybean producing countries and now US farmers are losing even more business to them.

With approximately 500,000 acres of soybeans in Maryland, many of them on the Eastern Shore, soybean framers are now hard-pressed to decide what to do with the crops that they had expected to export to China. Many farmers are storing their soybeans, in the hope, especially with the changed political situation, that trade restrictions will be loosened by next summer and prices will rise. However, storing soybeans is a problem. Soybeans are much more difficult to store long-term than other crops such as corn. Soybeans are hard to keep dry. They absorb moisture easily and rot quickly. But farmers must either sell now if they can or arrange to store the crop and hope.

There have also been large drops in exports of other American crops such as corn, wheat, sorghum and beef—on all of which China has placed tariffs, generally at 25%. All of this has affected farming on the Eastern Shore, making for lost income this year and uncertainty for the future of farming on the Shore.


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