Weekly Grain Movement – ‘Big Three’ take another step backWeekly Grain Movement – ‘Big Three’ take another step back

The latest grain export inspection report from USDA, out Monday morning and covering the week through April 8, held some mixed but mostly disappointing data for traders to digest. While corn, soybeans and wheat all trended lower week-over-week, these three crops still stayed within the range of trade estimates, and corn and soybean volume still hold a commanding lead over last year’s pace for the 2020/21 marketing year.

Corn export inspections fell 27% from a week ago, landing at 62.4 million bushels. That was also on the lower end of trade estimates, which ranged between 47.2 million and 82.7 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2020/21 marketing year remain far ahead of last year’s pace, with 1.479 billion bushels.

China was the No. 1 destination for U.S. corn export inspections last week, with 17.5 million bushels. Mexico wasn’t far behind, with 15.5 million bushels. South Korea, Japan and Taiwan rounded out the top five.

Sorghum export inspections eased slightly week-over-week, to 7.8 million bushels. More than 99% of that volume is heading to China, with the tiny remainder bound for Japan. Cumulative totals for the 2020/21 marketing year are nearly tripling last year’s pace, with 192.3 million bushels.

Soybean export inspections took another step back, dropping moderately week-over-week to 12.0 million bushels. That was still on the upper end of trade guesses, which ranged between 3.7 million and 14.7 million bushels. And cumulative totals for the 2020/21 marketing year are vastly exceeding last year’s pace, reaching 2.014 billion bushels since September 1.

Indonesia (3.5 million) and Mexico (2.7 million) were the top two destinations for U.S. soybean inspections last week. Egypt, Taiwan and South Korea filled out the top five.

Wheat export inspections also saw a moderate week-over-week decline, falling to 16.8 million bushels. That was slightly on the higher end of trade guesses, which ranged between 11.0 million and 20.2 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2020/21 marketing year have slipped slightly below last year’s pace, with 786.5 million bushels.

The Philippines topped all destinations for U.S. wheat export inspections last week, with just under 4.0 million bushels. China, South Korea, Mexico and Jamaica rounded out the top five.

Click here to read more highlights from the latest USDA grain export inspection report.