Farm Futures logo

Soybean volume fell below all trade guesses last week, in contrast.

Ben Potter, Senior editor

June 22, 2020

2 Min Read
Stewart-Sutton/Thinkstock

USDA offered a mixed but mostly bullish batch of export inspection data in its latest weekly report, out Monday morning. The report, which covers the week ending June 18, showed better-than-expected inspection totals for both corn and wheat, with soybeans turning in a disappointing tally that dropped below the range of trade estimates.

Corn export inspections climbed 40% higher week-over-week to reach 51.0 million bushels. That tally was also above all trade estimates, which ranged between 37.4 million and 49.2 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2019/20 marketing year are still dragging nearly 23% behind last year’s pace, however, at 1.260 billion bushels.

Mexico returned as the No. 1 destination for U.S. corn export inspections last week, with 14.2 million bushels. South Korea, Japan, China and Peru filled out the top five.

Sorghum export inspections were chopped in half compared to a week ago but still notched another 4.3 million bushels last week. Cumulative totals for the 2019/20 marketing year are still more than double the prior year’s pace, reaching 151.6 million bushels. China continues to be the dominant buyer, accounting for 99% of last week’s inspections.

Wheat export inspections also found better-than-expected totals this past week, climbing 9% to 22.5 million bushels. Analysts were anticipating a more modest haul, with trade guesses ranging between 14.7 million and 22.0 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the young 2020/21 marketing year are tracking slightly above last year’s pace, with 51.9 million bushels.

Japan led all countries for U.S. wheat export inspections last week, with 3.4 million bushels. Nigeria, Yemen, Indonesia and Mexico filled out the top five.

Soybean export inspections were lackluster last week after spilling 41% lower week-over-week to land at 9.4 million bushels. Analysts were expecting better results, with trade guesses ranging between 11.0 million and 18.4 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2019/20 marketing year are fractionally above last year’s pace heading into the homestretch, with 1.341 billion bushels.

China has been an uneven buyer of U.S. soybeans this marketing year – reemerging as the top destination for export inspections this past week but only reaching 2.8 million bushels. Egypt, Mexico, Japan and Indonesia rounded out the top five.

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

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.

Subscribe to receive top agriculture news
Be informed daily with these free e-newsletters

You May Also Like