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Soybeans shine in weekly export sales report

Soybeans were the only bright spot in the latest Export Sales report from the USDA.  Sales of 364,500 MT were up noticeably on the week, and up 17 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases were primarily for the Netherlands, unknown destinations (which typically flips to China), Japan, Spain, and Indonesia.  There were slight reductions for Mexico. Exports of 684,000 were up 22 percent from the previous week but down 9 percent from the prior 4-week average.  

Corn sales of 537,700 MT were down 58 percent from the previous week and 68 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases were seen in Mexico, Japan, China, Colombia, and unknown destinations (which typically is switched to China). Reductions were noted in South Korea, Panama, El Salvador, Qatar, and the Dominican Republic.  Exports of 917,000 MT were down 19 percent from the previous week and 15 percent compared to the prior 4-week average. 

Wheat sales of 135,700 MT were down 30 percent from the previous week and down 27 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases were for the Philippines, Mexico, and Ecuador with reductions for Peru, unknown destinations, Venezuela, and Nigeria.  Exports of 280,200 MT were up 42 percent from the previous week and unchanged compared to the prior 4-week average. 

Rice sales of 35,700 MT were down 65 percent from the previous week and down 11 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases were for Haiti, Honduras, Venezuela, Canada, and Guatemala.  Exports of 33,5000 MT were down 41 percent from the previous week, but up 7 percent from the prior 4-week average. 

Cotton sales of 143,200 RB were down 11 percent from the previous week and 41 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases were for China, Turkey, India, El Salvador, and Bangladesh with reductions for Singapore.  Exports of 334,600 RB were up 34 percent from the previous week and 18 percent from the prior 4-week average. 

Beef sales of 8,700 MT were down 36 percent from the previous week and 43 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases were seen in South Korea, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan, and Chile with reductions for Indonesia, China, and Brazil.  Exports of 15,900 MT were down 8 percent from the previous week, but up 1 percent from the prior 4-week average. 

Pork sales of 27,1000 MT were down 49 percent from the previous week and 31 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases were seen for Japan, Mexico, China, South Korea, and Canada.  Exports of 37,000 MT, a marketing year high, were up 17 percent from the previous week and 19 percent from the prior 4-week average. 

On Thursday, a private exporter did report a sale of more than 12.8 million bushels (or 327,000 metric tons) of corn to China.  Of that 7.5 million are marked for the current marketing year and roughly 5.3 million bushels for the 2023/2024 marketing year.

The USDA’s next set of supply and demand numbers comes out May 12, 2023.