WASHINGTON: Five months into the 2016-17 marketing year (June to May), total U.S. export sales of 18.9 million metric tons are 30 percent ahead of last year’s pace and 7 percent ahead of the 5-year average pace. Soft red winter and durum sales continue to be slower than last year, but as of Nov. 24, volumes in seven of the top 10 U.S. export markets from 2015-16 are higher than last year, while Taiwan is matching last year’s pace. Hard red winter has already exceeded both 2014-15 and 2015-16 total sales, and is 25 percent ahead of the 5-year average on the same date. Both HRW and hard red spring year-to-date exports are the largest since 2010-11. White wheat sales are also ahead of both last year’s pace and the 5-year average pace. USDA projects 2016-17 exports will rise to 26.5 MMT, which, if realized, would be 26 percent higher than 2015-16.
USDA reported HRW year-to-date exports at 7.58 MMT, up 93 percent from the prior year. Brazil and Mexico are now the No. 1 and No. 2 largest HRW purchasers. As of Nov. 24, HRW sales to Brazil totaled 1.01 MMT, which is on par with total Brazilian 2014-15 HRW imports. Sales to Mexico are also up 80 percent year over year at 1.04 MMT, nearly equal to last year’s total HRW purchases as well. HRW purchases by Japan total 571,000 metric tons, up 22 percent from 2015-16. To date, HRW sales to Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia and Thailand are already greater than total 2015-16 HRW sales. Year-to-date sales to Chile and Peru are nearly three times greater than each country’s total HRW imports last year.
