News in brief:
– US agribusiness giants saw steep profit declines in Q1 2025, as newly imposed “reciprocal tariffs” under President Trump raised costs for machinery, fertilisers, and pesticides, squeezing farmers’ margins.
– The tariffs have disrupted global trade flows, prompting major buyers like China to shift to alternative suppliers such as Brazil, threatening the long-term competitiveness of US agricultural exports.
Multiple United States agribusiness giants, including ADM, Bunge, Mosaic, and Nutrien, reported sharp year-on-year declines in earnings for Q1 2025.
According to a report by Global Times, ADM’s agricultural services profits fell 31%, while Bunge’s agribusiness earnings dropped nearly 45%.
Analysts link the downturn to President Donald Trump’s recently reimposed “reciprocal tariffs,” which raised import duties on key farming inputs such as machinery, fertilisers, and pesticides.
“The tariffs may have been aimed at protecting domestic industries, but in agriculture, they’re hurting the very producers they were meant to support,” said Hu Qimu, an economic analyst in China. These measures have inflated production costs and diverted global trade flows away from the US, squeezing profit margins for exporters.
The impact is particularly pronounced in the fertiliser sector. Mosaic reported declining phosphate imports due to tariff-related shipping disruptions, while Nutrien plans a 5–7.5% price hike on its products, potentially burdening US farmers further.
Meanwhile, US machinery giant AGCO reported a 30% drop in net sales, citing inflationary pressures and trade uncertainty. Farmers are cutting back on equipment investments amid rising input costs.
Globally, the consequences are reshaping agricultural trade. China, once a top buyer of US soybeans, has shifted toward Brazil, signing contracts for a third more in April alone.
A Chinese expert warns that continued trade friction may reduce US competitiveness in key markets, while China accelerate diversification of their agricultural supply chains, potentially altering the global agricultural landscape for years to come.
