Agricultural ETFs to Gain as China Pledges to Buy $17B of US Crops
Following a highly anticipated two-day summit in China, a breakthrough trade agreement has emerged between U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping. In a significant development, China has agreed to purchase at least $17 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products annually through 2028.
This monumental deal, confirmed by the White House, is expected to provide a substantial revenue cushion for U.S. farms, sending a bullish wave across the agricultural sector and positioning exchange-traded funds (ETFs) focused on agribusiness and commodities for significant near-term gains.
To understand the full impact of this recent commitment, it is essential to break down the details of this new pledge, place it in the context of recent struggles that the U.S. agricultural industry was facing, and examine what lies ahead for the industry before highlighting specific ETFs that are poised to benefit.
Breaking Down the New Trade Pledge
The newly announced $17 billion annual commitment marks a major win for the U.S. farm belt, building on a baseline agreement reached during trade talks in October last year, when China agreed to purchase at least 25 million metric tons of American soybeans annually over three years.
Crucially, the latest agreement diversifies America’s agricultural export basket. While traditional heavyweights like soybeans dominate the order books, the new arrangement expands significantly to ensure reliable purchase volumes for other essential American crops, although their names are yet to be announced.
To this end, the White House has noted that China is once again allowing sales of U.S. beef and poultry, alongside other unspecified farm goods, under this $17 billion pledge.
This expansion should offer a solid boost to the American agricultural industry, which has struggled over the past several years amid retaliatory tariffs and counter-tariffs tied to trade tensions between China and the United States.
The cumulative effect of the October 2025 soybean pledge and this new $17 billion annual commitment is likely to provide a powerful, multi-year revenue stream that should stabilize farm incomes, encourage planting, and directly benefit companies across the agricultural value chain.
What Lies Ahead for the US Agri Industry?
With China being the globe’s largest importer of agricultural products, the nation remains a critical export market for U.S. agriculture. U.S. agricultural exports to China reached a record $40.9 billion in 2022, accounting for 21% of total U.S. agricultural exports, before falling sharply as trade tensions and shifting sourcing patterns disrupted flows.
However, the scenario seems to have improved to some extent in recent times, especially following the baseline agreement in October. Through the first four months of 2026, weekly soybean export sales to China have remained ahead of 2025 levels and generally above the five-year average, signaling stronger near-term purchasing activity (as per data from the American Farm Bureau Federation).
No doubt the new $17 billion-worth pledge provides a significant reprieve for the industry. After enduring years of erratic demand and repeated trade-related setbacks from China, American producers had been proactively expanding their reach to alternative trade partners across Southeast Asia, Europe, and Latin America over the past few years. Together, these factors should serve as strong growth catalysts for the U.S. agricultural industry in the near term, particularly during the 2026-2028 period.
However, it is important to recognize that full diversification toward other trade partners takes years to materialize, unlike the well-established market the United States had long enjoyed in China. In addition, future policy changes by the U.S. administration could reintroduce volatility to the industry.
Agricultural ETFs to Watch
Considering the aforementioned discussion, for investors looking to capitalize on this development, the following agricultural ETFs offer targeted exposure to U.S. farms and commodity prices:
Invesco DB Agriculture ETF DBA
This fund, with a market value worth $1.38 billion, provides exposure to futures contracts on some of the most liquid and widely traded agricultural commodities. CME Live Cattle Future holds the first position in this fund.
DBA has gained 9.1% year to date. The fund charges 83 basis points (bps) as fees and traded at a good volume of 2.48 million shares in the last trading session.
Invesco Agriculture Commodity Strategy No K-1 ETF PDBA
This fund, with a market value worth $425 million, is an actively managed ETF that invests in futures contracts of agricultural commodities, including corn, wheat, soybeans, and sugar. CME Live Cattle Future holds the first position in this fund.
PDBA has soared 9.2% year to date. The fund charges 59 bps as fees and traded at a volume of 0.71 million shares in the last trading session.
Teucrium Soybean ETF SOYB
This fund, with total net assets worth $70.4 million, provides investors with a cost-effective means to gain price exposure to the soybean market for future delivery.
SOYB has rallied 13% year to date. The fund charges 83 bps as fees and traded at a volume of 0.11 million shares in the last trading session.
Teucrium Agricultural ETF TAGS
This fund, with net assets worth $22.6 million, provides investors with a cost-effective means to obtain price exposure to four agricultural commodity markets, specifically corn, soybeans, wheat, and sugar for future delivery.
TAGS has gained 9.2% year to date. The fund charges 12 bps as fees and traded at a volume of 0.04 million shares in the last trading session.
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Invesco DB Agriculture ETF (DBA): ETF Research Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).