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Wheat falls moderately below the prior four-week average.

Ben Potter, Senior editor

September 30, 2021

2 Min Read
Cargo Container Ship on The Bosphorus
Getty/iStockphoto

USDA’s latest batch of grain export sales data, released Thursday morning and covering the week through Sept. 23, showed some promising numbers for soybeans but held more lackluster results for corn and wheat. Soybean volume moved to the upper end of analyst estimates, propped up by a flurry of fresh sales to China. But corn totals fell below the entire range of trade guesses, while wheat trailed the prior four-week average by 30%.

Corn exports gathered another 14.6 million bushels last week, led by a flash sale to Guatemala but not finding a lot of support elsewhere overseas. Totals were below all trade guesses, which ranged between 15.7 million and 35.4 million bushels. Cumulative sales for the 2021/22 marketing year are still roughly half of last year’s pace so far, with 59.9 million bushels.

Corn export shipments fared better, with 26.6 million bushels. Mexico was the No. 1 destination, with 10.3 million bushels. China, Japan, Honduras and Costa Rica rounded out the top five.

Sorghum sales reached 3.1 million bushels last week. That grain is bound for Mexico, China and unknown destinations. Cumulative sales for the 2021/22 marketing year have started off at around half of last year’s pace, with just 4.6 million bushels since Sept. 1.

Soybean sales posted solid results last week, gathering in 40.2 million bushels. That was toward the higher end of trade estimates, which ranged between 25.7 million and 44.1 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2021/22 marketing year remain well behind last year’s pace for now, however.

Soybean export shipments were for 19.4 million bushels. China accounted for more than half of that total, with 10.7 million bushels. The Netherlands, Italy, Mexico and Spain filled out the top five.

Wheat exports drifted 19% lower week-over-week, to 10.7 million bushels. That was toward the lower end of trade estimates, which ranged between 9.2 million and 20.2 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2021/22 marketing year remain moderately behind last year’s pace, with 264.9 million bushels.

Wheat export shipments fell 27% week-over-week and 19% below the prior four-week average, to 13.6 million bushels. China was the No. 1 destination, with 2.6 million bushels. Nigeria, Thailand, Mexico and Venezuela rounded out the top five.

Click here for more highlights and insights from the latest USDA report, covering Sept. 17 through Sept. 23.

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.

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