What happened
According to people who asked not to be named because the deals are private, Cofco International Ltd. - which serves as Cofco Corp.'s overseas trading unit - completed the buying last week. The French wheat adds up to at least 120,000 tons, and the Argentine cargo size was not immediately specified. Cofco International declined to comment.
Customs figures show China imported about 60,000 tons of French wheat in September. If these new bookings move ahead, they would top any single amount imported from France since 2024.
Why now
Chicago wheat futures have been sliding, removing the war-risk premium that emerged after fighting escalated between Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea region. Bloomberg said last month that Cofco Corp. inquired about securing US soft red winter wheat for shipment to China. Algeria, another large buyer, is also in the market with a wheat tender this week.
The broader picture
China's wheat imports have cooled in recent seasons, yet the country still sits among the top 10 global buyers. The Argentine booking comes as farmers there start harvesting a bumper crop. Customs data suggest this would mark the first shipment of Argentine wheat to China since February. At the end of 2025, Argentina sent to China its first wheat shipments in about three decades.
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Investor view
Pricing matters here. Softer futures and fading risk premiums open a window for buyers, and China appears to be taking it. For your portfolio, watch how demand from top importers like China and Algeria interacts with harvest news out of Argentina and policy signals from Cofco. That mix will drive both futures curves and the earnings outlook for exporters tied to the Atlantic and Black Sea trade routes.
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