Analysts had big expectations for the latest round of grain export sales data from USDA, out Thursday morning and covering the week through March 17. Old crop corn sales crumbled 47% lower week-over-week, while old crop soybean sales tilted 67% below the prior week’s tally. Wheat exports fared somewhat better, with total sales moving toward the higher end of trade guesses.

Corn exports saw old crop sales reach 38.6 million bushels, which was 29% below the prior four-week average. New crop sales chipped in another 240,000 bushels, for a total of 38.8 million bushels. That was on the very low end of analyst estimates, which ranged between 35.4 million and 86.6 million bushels. Cumulative sales for the 2021/22 marketing year are slightly trailing last year’s pace, with 1.193 billion bushels.

Corn export shipments improved 17% from a week ago but were 8% below the prior four-week average, with 58.7 million bushels. China was the No. 1 destination, with 18.8 million bushels. Japan, Mexico, Colombia and Canada rounded out the top five.

Sorghum export sales fell to a marketing-year low, with net reductions of 252,000 bushels. Sorghum shipments fared better, with 10.0, which was 19% above the prior four-week average. China accounted for more than 99% of the total, with Mexico picking up the tiny remainder.

Old crop soybean sales tumbled 70% below the prior four-week average, to 15.1 million bushels. And new crop sales saw reductions of around 475,000 bushels, dropping the total tally to 14.7 million bushels. That was below the entire range of analyst estimates, which came in between 29.4 million and 77.2 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2021/22 marketing year are still more than 400 million bushels behind last year’s pace, with 1.575 billion bushels.

Soybean export shipments eroded 38% below the prior four-week average, to 20.2 million bushels. China was the No. 1destination, with 5.9 million bushels. Mexico, Egypt, Indonesia and Japan filled out the top five.

Wheat exports only had 5.7 million bushels in old crop sales, but new crop sales added another 13.5 million bushels for a total of 19.2 million bushels. That was near the middle of trade guesses, which ranged between 7.3 million and 33.1 million bushels. Cumulative sales for the 2021/22 marketing year are still tracking moderately below last year’s pace, with 556.5 million bushels.

Wheat export shipments inched 5% below the prior four-week average, to 13.5 million bushels. South Korea topped all destinations, with 3.1 million bushels. The Philippines, Mexico, Honduras and Venezuela rounded out the top five.

Click here for more from USDA’s latest report, covering March 11 through March 17.