China buys record amount of Russian soybeans after canceling US orders over Trump threats

China has purchased record amounts of soybeans from Russia in recent months amid trade tensions with the U.S., Bloomberg reported. 

The world’s biggest soybean importer, China has nearly tripled its imports from Russia, according to Bloomberg. Russian trade data show the country sold 850,000 metric tons of soybeans to China between July 2017 and mid-May this year. 

The record sales represent more than twice the 340,000 tons sold during the previous growing period. 

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The move comes amid China’s halt on purchases from the U.S., the world’s largest producer of soybeans.

China has cancelled multiple U.S. shipments in recent weeks ahead of tariffs, including a 62,690-ton purchase on April 19, Bloomberg reported earlier this month.

China included soybeans on a list of tariffs on U.S. products last month totaling $50 billion, a direct response to the Trump administration’s announcement of $150 billion of tariffs against Chinese imports. 

China is the second-largest market for U.S. agricultural exports. 

While Russia’s soybean production makes up less than 1 percent of the amount China imports, the size of soybean plantings in eastern Russia could reportedly expand up to 20 percent in the next two to three years.