USDA’s latest export sales report, out Friday morning and covering the week through Sept. 3, drew a big line in the sand as corn and soybean sales began to see data for the new 2026-27 marketing year, which began Sept. 1. (Today’s report covers sales through Sept. 3.)
Corn sales wrapped up 2025-26 with massive year-over-year gains, while soybeans failed to match the prior year’s pace after missing out on some China sales earlier this year.
Corn sales notched a solid 75.9 million bushels in new-crop sales over the first three days of September, with an additional 614.3 million bushels in sales carried over from 2025-26. That left cumulative sales for the recently concluded 2025-26 marketing year at 3.386 billion bushels — a 25% year-over-year jump.
Corn export shipments for the start of September reached 30.5 million bushels. Mexico, Colombia, South Korea, Thailand and Spain were the top five destinations.
Soybean exports up
Soybean export sales for the start of the 2026-27 marketing year jumped to 96.9 million bushels, reflecting some recent flash sales to China. Carryover sales from 2025-26 accounted for an additional 688.9 million bushels, leaving total outstanding sales at 785.8 million bushels. However, cumulative sales in the 2025-26 marketing year were down 18% after crossing the finish line with 1.841 billion bushels.
Soybean export shipments notched 6.6 million bushels over the first three days of September — generally a slow start, but mostly typical for this time of year. Spain, Egypt, Algeria, Indonesia and Vietnam were the top five destinations.
Wheat export sales faded to a marketing-year low of 7.1 million bushels, with another meager 0.1 million bushels for 2027-28, bringing the total to 7.2 million bushels. That was 38% below the prior week’s tally and 43% below the prior four-week average.
Wheat export shipments were more robust, inching 3% above the prior four-week average to 18.1 million bushels. Mexico, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Bangladesh were the top five destinations.
Click here for additional highlights from the latest USDA export sales report.