The world’s largest chemicals producer, formed last year through the $130 billion merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont, also said it would buy back $3 billion in shares over the next five months.

DowDuPont’s shares rose 4.4 percent to $56.30 in premarket trading.

An intensifying trade dispute between China and the United States has weighed on the farm sector, especially after Beijing slapped a 25 percent tariff this year on U.S. soybeans, the most valuable American farm export to China.

DowDuPont said last month its agricultural unit, which produces seeds and pesticides, recorded a non-cash charge of $4.6 billion, as seed makers face shifts in demand as a result of trade tariffs.

China, the world’s top soybeans importer, has scaled back purchases of U.S. soy and is instead buying from Brazil.

The shift has prompted Brazilian farmers to plant more soybeans, instead of corn. Some U.S. farmers may make the opposite choice in the spring.

The tariff row could hurt DowDuPont’s U.S. agricultural business next year because of higher soybean production in Latin America, Chief Financial Officer Howard Ungerleider said in an interview.

Still, Ungerleider suggested the impact may not be immediate. “We don’t see any material impact from the (trade) tariffs on our businesses in the fourth quarter,” he said.

DowDuPont’s overall net sales rose 10 percent to $20.1 billion in the third quarter ended September.

Sales at its materials science business, which produces chemicals used in cosmetics, packaging material, paints and brake fluids, rose 13 percent to $12.4 billion. The unit is DowDuPont’s top revenue contributor.

Agricultural unit sales rose 2 percent to $1.91 billion.

Selling, general and administrative costs ballooned almost 50 percent to $1.5 billion.

Adjusted earnings jumped 35 percent to 74 cents per share, above analysts’ average estimate of 71 cents, according to Refinitiv data.

DowDuPont, which is in the process of splitting itself up into three companies, said the separation was on track. The materials science division, to be called Dow, should separate by April 1, the company said.

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Shares of the company fell 3 percent to $66.11 in morning trade and were the biggest drag on the S&P 500 index at 1500 GMT.

“We see some discrete headwinds, most notably currency fluctuations, particularly in agriculture, and higher raw materials costs in all three divisions,” Chief Financial Officer Howard Ungerleider said.

Dow and DuPont completed their $130 billion merger last September to form DowDuPont. It will create three separately traded companies next year, splitting into companies that look at agriculture, plastics and specialty products.

On a conference call with analysts, CEO Ed Breen said trade tensions have increased volatility in agricultural commodity prices.

“U.S. soybean exports that normally go to China are simply being shifted to other countries.”

Last month, Washington imposed tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports. In return, China levied taxes on the same value of products from the United States, including soybeans and sorghum. Traders rushed shipments of U.S. soy to China before the tariff took effect on July 6.

However, the company, which has global operations and often sources materials locally, does not expect any tariff-related impact on overall business this year.

Total sales from the company’s biggest revenue generator, the materials science business which makes chemicals used in cosmetics, packaging material, and brake fluids, rose 18 percent to $12.6 billion for the second quarter.

Sales from its agricultural business rose 25 percent to $5.7 billion. Cold weather in the northern hemisphere moved demand for the company’s seeds from April to May.

The agriculture unit, a weak spot in earlier quarters, has struggled due to an industry wide grains glut that led to slowing demand.

The company said overall prices rose 4 percent in the quarter, including a 5 percent increase in materials science business and a 4 percent price rise in agriculture.

Net sales rose 17 percent to $24.2 billion, which the company said compares with net sales of $20.7 billion that DowDuPont would have made had it been one company in the same quarter a year earlier.

Adjusted earnings came in at $1.37 per share, above analysts expectations of $1.30 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

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