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Big week for new crop soybean export sales

New crop soybean exports grabbed the spotlight in the most recent set of sales numbers. The USDA says more than 2.6 million tons of U.S. beans were sold during the week ending July 27^th for next marketing year, most of that to unknown destinations and China. Buyers are looking to secure supplies for after Brazil runs out of their exportable surplus and sometime after the start of the U.S. harvest.
Old and new crop soybean meal and oil sales were also solid, while sorghum and wheat both saw big week-to-week improvements. Beef, pork, and corn export sales were sharply lower than last week. Exports are driven by several factors including currency trade and seasonal supply and demand trends. The USDA’s next set of supply and demand estimates is out Friday, August 11^th.

Physical shipments of soybeans and wheat were above what’s needed to meet USDA projections for the current respective marketing years. The 2023/24 marketing year got underway June 1^st, 2023 for wheat and August 1^st, 2023 for cotton and rice, while 2022/23 kicked off September 1^st, 2022 for beans, corn, and sorghum and October 1^st, 2022 for soybean products. The marketing year for beef and pork is the calendar year.

Wheat came out at 421,300 tons (15.5 million bushels), up 81% from the week ending July 20^th and 40% from the four-week average. China purchased 138,500 tons and Mexico bought 125,100 tons, while unknown destinations canceled on 116,000 tons. At this point in the 2023/24 marketing year, wheat exports are 214.7 million bushels, compared to 303 million in 2022/23. Sales of 13,400 tons (500,000 bushels) for 2024/24 delivery were to Mexico (7,000 tons) and Panama (6,400 tons).

Corn was reported at 107,500 tons (4.2 million bushels), down 66% from both the previous week and the four-week average. Japan picked up 140,000 tons and Egypt purchased 38,000 tons, while unknown destinations canceled on 106,700 tons. With just over a month remaining in the 2022/23 marketing year, corn exports are 1.581 billion bushels, compared to 2.388 billion in 2021/22. Sales of 349,800 tons (13.7 million bushels) for 2023/24 delivery were primarily to Honduras (79,600 tons) and Mexico (67,400 tons).

Sorghum sales were 140,900 tons (5.5 million bushels), a big improvement from the week before and 6% higher than the four-week average. Unknown destinations bought 136,000 tons and China picked up 4,900 tons. Sorghum exports are 110.2 million bushels, compared to 274.3 million a year ago.

Old crop rice sales were 21,700 tons, quite a bit above both the prior week and the four-week average. Haiti purchased 15,000 tons and Saudi Arabia bought 6,400 tons. Rice exports are 1,964,600 tons, compared to 2,936,300 last year. Sales of 7,300 tons for 2023/24 delivery were mainly to Saudi Arabia (4,300 tons) and Honduras (1,000 tons).

Soybeans were pegged at 90,600 tons (3.3 million bushels), a drop of 54% on the week and 16% from the four-week average. The Netherlands picked up 56,500 tons and Mexico purchased 23,500 tons. So far, this marketing year, soybean exports are 1.942 billion bushels, compared to 2.187 billion a year ago. Sales of 2,630,700 tons (96.7 million bushels) for 2023/24 delivery were primarily to unknown destinations (1,574,000 tons) and China (859,000 tons).

Soybean meal came out at 163,600 tons, 2% higher than the previous week and 3% more than the four-week average. The Philippines bought 44,400 tons and Colombia picked up 27,900 tons. For the marketing year to date, soybean meal exports are 12,394,300 tons, compared to 11,597,300 last year. Sales of 183,300 tons for 2023/24 delivery were mostly to the Dominican Republic (51,300 tons) and unknown destinations (45,600 tons).

Soybean oil was reported at 2,200 tons, a gain of 4% from the week before, but a noticeable loss from the four-week average. Canada purchased 1,200 tons and Mexico bought 1,000 tons. Cumulative soybean oil exports are 127,900 tons, compared to 693,000 a year ago. Sales of 2,200 tons for 2023/24 delivery were to Canada.

Old crop upland cotton had a net reduction of 9,900 bales. Sales of 100 to 1,100 bales were more than offset by cancelations of 300 to 6,000 bales. 2022/23 upland cotton exports are 13,949,000 bales, compared to 15,588,200 late in 2021/22. Sales of 33,900 bales for 2023/24 delivery were mainly to China (18,300 bales) and Mexico (17,200 bales), with a cancelation by Pakistan (22,600 bales).

Net beef sales totaled 12,400 tons, a decline of 42% from the prior week and 28% from the four-week average. The listed buyers were South Korea (3,900 tons), Japan (3,400 tons), Canada (2,500 tons), Mexico (1,300 tons), and China (900 tons), with a cancelation by Taiwan (900 tons). Shipments of 17,200 tons were an increase of 7% on the week and 8% from the four-week average, primarily to South Korea (4,900 tons), Japan (4,000 tons), China (2,400 tons), Mexico (1,700 tons), and Taiwan (1,300 tons). Sales of 200 tons for 2024 delivery were to Japan.

Net pork sales totaled 17,800 tons, a decrease of 30% from the previous week and 25% from the four-week average. The reported purchasers were Mexico (7,300 tons), Japan (2,800 tons), Canada (2,300 tons), Colombia (1,900 tons), and South Korea (1,200 tons), with a cancelation by the Dominican Republic (100 tons). Shipments of 27,100 tons were a jump of 14% from the week before and 4% from the four-week average, mostly to Mexico (12,300 tons), China (4,500 tons), Japan (3,000 tons), Canada (1,600 tons), and South Korea (1,600 tons).