U.S. beef export sales hit a marketing year high during the week ending April 25th. The USDA says beef sales were up sharply from both the previous week and the four-week average, driven by solid demand from several key customers in Asia led by South Korea and Japan. Pork was also up on the week, with Mexico buying about two thirds of the total. Old crop soybean and rice sales saw week-to-week improvements, while other commodities dipped, including a net reduction for wheat. Export business is driven by several factors, primarily the value of the dollar relative to other currencies and seasonal changes in supply. The USDA’s next round of supply and demand estimates is out Friday, May 10th at Noon Eastern/11 Central.
Physical shipments of corn and wheat were more than what’s needed to meet USDA projections for the current marketing year. The 2023/24 marketing year got underway June 1st for wheat, August 1st for cotton and rice, September 1st for corn, sorghum, and soybeans, and October 1st for soybean products. The marketing year for beef and pork is the calendar year.
Wheat had a net reduction of 20,300 tons (-700,000 bushels). That followed sales of 6,500 to 33,000 tons being offset by cancelations of 100 to 115,000 tons. With roughly a month remaining in the 2023/24 marketing year, wheat exports are 690.7 million bushels, compared to 694.5 million late in 2022/23. Sales of 406,900 tons (15 million bushels) for 2024/25 delivery were mainly to Taiwan (106,700 tons) and unknown destinations (95,000 tons).
May 2, 2024
By John Perkins
