SHANGHAI: American agricultural producers are bracing for the prospect of a new trade war under US President-elect Donald Trump that will again hit agricultural exports to China, but said that while any new tariffs would hurt, they would They felt better prepared.

Several American producers of crops from almonds to soybeans are in China this week for the China International Import Expo (CIIE), an event aimed at encouraging import purchases, and to meet with officials.

The sector is still recovering from tariffs of up to 25 percent that Beijing imposed on U.S. agricultural imports, from soybeans to sorghum, during the 2018 trade war in retaliation against tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

China is the biggest market for U.S. agricultural products and its biggest customer for soybeans, the top U.S. export to China, but it has been cutting back on purchases. U.S. agricultural exports to China fell 24 percent last year to $29.1 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

That figure is expected to fall further this year, but China will remain a key market, said Jason Hafemeister, USDA’s acting deputy assistant secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Services.

“It’s concerning,” Hafemeister said. “Even in recent years we have recognized the potential for disruption in trade between the United States and China, so a lot of our efforts have gone into diversifying our markets,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of the CIIE.

Trump, who achieved a victory in this week’s presidential electionshas introduced a blanket 60 percent tariff on Chinese goods, and U.S. agricultural exports are again expected to be a key focus of China’s retaliation.

“They need food, we produce a lot of food… We hope that things don’t get out of control and that they stay proportionate,” Hafemeister said.

The U.S. agriculture industry has tried to expand into Southeast Asia, Africa and India, and beyond bulk grains for value-added products, but China’s size and appetite are difficult to replace.

“It’s hard to find another market that moves the needle, so you have to find a lot of markets to even come close to that,” said Ryan LeGrand, executive director of the US Grains Council.

Verity Ulibarri, a sorghum farmer in New Mexico who also chairs the U.S. Grains Council, said the industry has positioned itself to be able to mitigate the risks of a trade war.

“As we look into the future to see what may or may not happen, having that experience gives us a better sense of how to navigate that. We are not afraid, we know there are risks,” Ulibarri said, referring to the 2018 trade war.

Trump’s election victory caused China’s soybean meal and rapeseed meal futures contracts to rally on Thursday.

“It seems like almost everything is on the table,” said Allan Garbor, president of Shanghai business chamber AmCham. “But personally, I would say, we really hope that the food and agriculture area is a safe area for everyone.”