U.S. Commercial Wheat Sales Ahead of Last Year’s Pace

USDA estimates that the U.S. will export 26.5 million metric tons of wheat in the 2020-2021 marketing year, which if realized would be 1% of the 2019 pace. However, four months into the marketing year, total U.S. wheat commercial sales are 12% ahead of last year’s pace at 16.8 million metric tons and 15% ahead of the five-year average. To date, sales of hard red winter wheat, hard red spring wheat, and soft and hard white wheat are significantly ahead of last year’s pace. Sales of soft red winter wheat and durum lag behind the pace set in the 2019-2020 marketing year.

Successes in individual markets like China and Brazil brought on by policy changes and follow-on trade and technical service by the U.S. Wheat Associates are supporting overall sales. Competitive pricing for U.S. wheat earlier in the current marketing year helped to fuel a faster import pace, even by traditionally strong U.S. wheat customers like the Philippines and South Korea. Total hard red winter wheat sales are 12% ahead of last year at 6.12 MMT, helped out by export sales to Brazil that are almost two times greater than they were at the same time last year.

Total HRS export sales are 15% higher than last year.

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