For the week ending August 2, grain export inspections yielded mixed results, with corn and wheat inspections sliding lower than the prior week’s results, as soybean activity picked up slightly. All three commodities ended at or above trade expectations for the week.

Corn export inspections reached 50.7 million bushels last week, which was moderately below the prior week’s total of 65.4 million bushels but in the middle of trade expectations, which ranged between 39 million and 66 million bushels. The weekly rate needed to meet USDA forecasts as the 2017/18 marketing year winds down is still a manageable 40.2 million bushels, with marketing year-to-date totals of 2.078 billion bushels down 1.9% from the pace of 2016/17.

Japan was the No. 1 destination for U.S. corn export inspections last week, with 14.4 million bushels. Other top destinations included Mexico (10.9 million), South Korea (8.2 million), Colombia (2.7 million) and Peru (2.5 million). 

Soybean export inspections topped 32.8 million bushels last week – up slightly from the prior week’s total of 28.3 million bushels and besting the average trade guess that ranged between 18 million and 27 million bushels. The weekly rate needed to meet USDA forecasts as the 2017/18 marketing year winds down is a manageable 15.5 million bushels. Year-to-date totals for this marketing year reached 1.961 billion bushels, down 3.2% from a year ago. 

The Netherlands came in as the No. 1 destination for U.S. soybean inspections last week, with 8.1 million bushels. Other top destinations included Portugal (5.0 million), Vietnam (2.7 million) and Spain (2.4 million). China made an appearance to round out the top 5, accounting for 2.4 million bushels.

Wheat export inspections reached 12.0 million bushels for the week ending August 2, which was down from the prior week’s total of 13.9 million bushels and on the low end of the average trade guess, which ranged between 11 million and 16 million bushels. The rate needed to meet USDA forecast for the 2018/19 marketing year, which began July 1, increased to 18.1 million bushels, with the marketing year-to-date starting off 40% slower than the prior year with 123 million bushels so far. 

The Philippines topped the list of destinations for U.S. wheat export inspections last week, with 2.0 million bushels. Other top destinations included Guatemala (1.8 million), Mexico (1.6 million), Taiwan (1.4 million), Yemen (1.3 million) and Nigeria (1.2 million).