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USDA data offers mixed results for the week ending September 10.

Ben Potter, Senior editor

September 17, 2020

2 Min Read
fotokostic/ThinkstockPhotos

The latest round of USDA export sales data, released Thursday morning and covering the week through September 10, offered mixed but mostly encouraging results when compared to analyst estimates. Corn and soybean totals landed on the high end of trade guesses, while wheat slid to the lower end of analyst estimates.

Corn export sales reached 63.4 million bushels last week, versus trade guesses that ranged between 31.5 million and 74.8 million bushels. Mexico and Japan have typically topped the list in these weekly reports, but China emerged as the No. 1 buyer of U.S. corn last week, with 14.2 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the young 2020/21 marketing year are tracking moderately ahead of last year’s pace so far.

Corn export shipments were more modest last week after reaching 35.5 million bushels. Mexico was the No. 1 destination, with 8.4 million bushels. China, South Korea, Colombia and Japan filled out the top five.

Sorghum export sales remain encouraging, with another 4.8 million bushels last week to China and Japan. Sorghum export shipments were less robust, with 2.9 million bushels, also headed to China and Japan.

Soybean export sales reached 90.3 million bushels last week, which was on the higher end of trade estimates that ranged between 55.1 million and 102.9 million bushels. China nabbed over half of that total, with 54.6 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2020/21 marketing year are staying ahead of last year’s pace so far.

Related:Weekly Grain Movement – ‘Big Three’ all take a small step back

Soybean export shipments were also solid last week, with 63.7 million bushels. China far surpassed all other destinations, taking 40.0 million bushels. Egypt, Japan, Mexico and Vietnam rounded out the top five.

Wheat export sales were relatively disappointing, falling 42% below the prior four-week average to 12.3 million bushels. That was also on the lower end of trade guesses, which ranged between 11.0 million and 25.7 million bushels. Still, cumulative totals for the 2020/21 marketing year remain 4% ahead of last year’s pace, with 281.9 million bushels.

Wheat export shipments edged 2% above the prior four-week average to 20.7 million bushels. Indonesia led all destinations with 3.3 million bushels. The Philippines, Japan, China and Mexico filled out the top five.

Click here to see more highlights from the latest USDA export report, which covers September 4 through September 10.

About the Author(s)

Ben Potter

Senior editor, Farm Futures

Senior Editor Ben Potter brings two decades of professional agricultural communications and journalism experience to Farm Futures. He began working in the industry in the highly specific world of southern row crop production. Since that time, he has expanded his knowledge to cover a broad range of topics relevant to agriculture, including agronomy, machinery, technology, business, marketing, politics and weather. He has won several writing awards from the American Agricultural Editors Association, most recently on two features about drones and farmers who operate distilleries as a side business. Ben is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

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