Export sales: Corn and wheat sales slumpExport sales: Corn and wheat sales slump

USDA’s latest set of grain export data, out Thursday morning and covering the week through April 6, didn’t hold a lot of bullish data for traders to digest. Soybean volume was pedestrian after climbing noticeably higher from the prior week while still staying toward the lower end of analyst estimates. Corn sales tumbled 68% below the prior four-week average, meantime, and wheat sales were down 30% week-over-week.

Corn exports found 20.8 million bushels in total sales, which was a weekly reduction of 58%. That was also on the very low end of analyst estimates, which ranged between 19.7 million and 68.9 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2022/23 marketing year are still tracking well below last year’s pace so far, with 838.4 million bushels.

Corn export shipments reached 36.1 million bushels, which was down 19% week-over-week and 15% below the prior four-week average. Mexico was the No. 1 destination, with 11.0 million bushels. China, Japan, Colombia and the Dominican Republic rounded out the top five.

Sorghum export sales were steady week-over-week, with 2.6 million bushels in old crop sales. That was still 11% below the prior four-week average, however. The entirety of that grain is bound for China. Cumulative totals for the 2022/23 marketing year remain significantly below last year’s pace so far, with 34.3 million bushels.

Soybean exports improved 17% versus the prior four-week average after reaching 14.8 million bushels. That was still toward the lower end of analyst estimates, which ranged between 9.2 million and 29.4 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2022/23 marketing year are still trending slightly ahead of last year’s pace, with 1.681 billion bushels.

Soybean export shipments improved 22% week-over-week but were still 9% below the prior four-week average, with 25.1 million bushels. China was the No. 1 destination, with 13.4 million bushels. The Netherlands, Mexico, Japan and Spain filled out the top five.

Wheat exports reached 7.5 million bushels in total sales last week. Old crop sales faded 27% below the prior four-week average. Analysts were generally expecting a bigger haul, with trade guesses ranging between 2.8 million and 18.4 million bushels. Cumulative sales for the 2022/23 marketing year are trending slightly below last year’s pace, with 576.4 million bushels.

Wheat export shipments climbed 42% higher week-over-week and matched the prior four-week average after reaching 10.3 million bushels. Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Tunisia and Mexico were the top five destinations.

Click here to read more highlights from the latest UDSA export sales report.