While U.S. soybean sales to China suffered in 2018, they’re making some headway across the Atlantic Ocean. On the 50th anniversary of the soybean industry’s development efforts in the European Union, the United States has outpaced Brazil as the number one supplier to the continent. The website U.S. Soy Dot Org says America is also the top soybean supplier to the Middle East and North Africa. Farmers and industry officials say the challenge is to make sure the growth that began as a result of the trade dispute with China keeps going in the right direction. Brazil soybeans are currently fetching a big premium. Government data says Brazil soybeans are getting $89 per metric ton more, on average, than U.S. oilseeds were last month, due to Chinese demand. A drought also dramatically cut production and meal output in Argentina, the world’s top exporter in 2017. As a result, U.S. soybeans and meal exports are up 243 percent and 105 percent, respectively, to Europe and the Middle East/North Africa regions. Countries like Egypt, Spain, Saudi Arabia, and many others have either increased their soybean purchases or have become new customers.