Fall weather has been cooling down in recent weeks, but unfortunately, so have U.S. export sales for corn, wheat and soybeans, which were all down again week-over-week, according for the latest round of USDA data that covers sales from October 12-18. 

Corn exports found just 13.8 million bushels in old crop sales plus another 1.1 million bushels of new crop sales (all to Mexico) for a total of 14.9 million bushels for the week ending October 18. That total failed to match the prior week’s lackluster 15.1 million bushels and fell below trade expectations that ranged between 15.7 million and 31.5 million bushels.

Mexico led the way for U.S. corn export sales last week, with nearly 80% of the total with 10.9 million bushels of old crop sales, followed by Colombia, Honduras, Costa Rica and Tunisia.

Corn export shipments were much more robust last week, with 47.8 million bushels. Mexico was again the No. 1 destination, with 15.9 million bushels. Other top destinations included Colombia, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

Sorghum exports rebounded last week with 2.2 million bushels in total sales (all bound for unknown destinations) but remain significantly low for the 2018/19 marketing year.

Soybean exports continue to underperform, with net sales of 7.8 million bushels last week. That slipped below a disappointing total of 10.8 million bushels the prior week and could not meet modest analyst expectations of between 11.0 million and 25.7 million bushels. Egypt was the No. 1 destination, with 4.1 million bushels, followed by Taiwan, the Netherlands and Argentina. 

Significant reductions were also reported for unknown destinations and China. A week ago, Farm Futures senior grain market analyst Bryce Knorr called China “the missing link” for soybean exports last week, and that trend continues, as the country did not appear on the list of top destinations in the latest USDA data.

Soybean export shipments were a much healthier 40.8 million bushels last week, with Spain as the No. 1 destination, accounting for 4.6 million bushels. Other top destinations included Mexico, Egypt, Argentina and the Netherlands.

Wheat exports landed at 16.3 million bushels of old crop sales and another 236,000 in new crop sales (all marked for Colombia) last week for a total of 16.5 million – hitting the high end of trade estimates that ranged between 7.3 million and 18.4 million bushels but still 7% below the prior week’s total of 17.5 million. Unknown destinations led the way with 6.4 million bushels, followed by Italy, Japan and Panama.

Wheat export shipments of 14.7 million bushels fell 19% from the prior week and 11% below the four-week average. The Philippines topped all destinations, with 2.4 million bushels. Other top destinations included Taiwan, Indonesia, Italy and Nigeria.