USDA’s latest grain export inspection report, out Monday morning and covering the week through May 15, held mixed but mostly bullish data for traders to digest. Corn volume led the way once again and stayed on the very high end of analyst estimates. Wheat volume was also relatively strong, while soybeans stumbled to less than half of the prior week’s tally.
Corn export inspections found moderate week-over-week gains after reaching 67.7 million bushels. That was also on the very high end of analyst estimates, which ranged between 39.4 million and 68.9 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2024/25 marketing year remain noticeably above last year’s pace after reaching 1.793 billion bushels.
Mexico was the No. 1 destination for U.S. corn export inspections last week, with 20.1 million bushels. Japan, Colombia, South Korea, Taiwan and the Dominican Republic rounded out the top five.
Sorghum export inspections shifted moderately above the prior week’s volume after reaching 1.5 million bushels. That grain was bound for Mexico and Japan. Cumulative totals for the 2024/25 marketing year remain significantly below last year’s pace, meantime, after reaching 67.1 million bushels.
Soybean export inspections were disappointing after only reaching 8.0 million bushels last week. That was also below the entire set of analyst estimates, which ranged between 11.0 million and 20.2 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2024/25 marketing year are still tracking moderately ahead of last year’s pace after reaching 1.622 billion bushels.
Mexico was the No. 1 destination for U.S. soybean export inspections last week, with 2.4 million bushels. Egypt, Taiwan, Indonesia and Colombia rounded out the top five. This was the second consecutive week that no soybean export inspections were bound for China.
Wheat export inspections moved slightly higher week-over-week after reaching 15.6 million bushels. That was toward the higher end of analyst estimates, which ranged between 11.0 million and 18.4 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2024/25 marketing year are still trending moderately above the prior year’s pace after reaching 760.7 million bushels.
Japan topped all destinations for U.S. wheat export inspections last week, with 4.5 million bushels. Mexico, Nigeria, Malaysia and Colombia rounded out the top five.
Click here to see additional highlights from the latest USDA grain export inspection report.