Wheat Export Inspections Rise, But Stay Behind Previous Year

By Kirk Maltais

Wheat export inspections reported by the USDA for the week ended Dec. 21 improved from last week's showing, but total inspections remain well behind last year.

The USDA reported today that wheat inspections for the week totaled 428,663 metric tons, which is up from 284,792 tons the previous week. However, for the 2023/24 marketing year, wheat inspections remain down 21% from 2022/23, at 9.33 million tons.

Corn inspections also rose from the previous week, rising to 1.08 million tons. Meanwhile, soybean inspections fell, dropping to 1.07 million tons. Corn remains 26% over shipments at this time last year, while soybeans are 19% behind last year's pace.

While wheat shipments are dragging for the year, they may see more upticks in coming reports, says Naomi Blohm of Total Farm Marketing in a note following the report's release. "Wheat is down from one year ago, however actual export sales are strong due to recent Chinese purchases and likely have not yet left the country," says Blohm. "So we need to watch that on upcoming USDA reports."

In today's CBOT session, most-active corn is up 0.8%, soybeans are down 0.1%, and wheat is up 2.5%.

To see related data, search "USDA Grain Inspections for Export in Metric Tons" in Dow Jones NewsPlus.

Write to Kirk Maltais at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-26-23 1142ET