Chinese importers wrapped up 2020 with new sales and shipments of U.S. soybeans, wheat and corn, according to the latest weekly USDA trade data.
China helped push weekly U.S. export sales up for the second-to-last week of the year, Dec. 18-24, by importing 1.465 million metric tons of soybeans, 492,000 tons of corn, 68,200 tons of wheat and 161,600 tons of sorghum. China was the sole importer of U.S. sorghum for the week and shipments were 24% higher than the previous seven-day period.
Interested in more coverage and insights? Receive a free month of Agri-Pulse.
China weighed in especially hard on U.S. soybean trade as concerns remain over Brazilian yields for the harvest that’s expected to come in late January amid expectations of tight supplies. U.S. soybean sellers reported net sales of 619,700 tons to China for the 2020-21 marketing year and a further 126,000 tons for the 2021-22 marketing year during the seven-day period.
And Chinese millers purchased 133,200 tons of U.S. wheat for 2020-21 during the week, helping push net sales for the period up 32% from the previous week. The Philippines came in a distant second for net sales of 80,900 tons. But when it comes to physical exports, the Philippines was number one for Dec. 18-24 with 104,900 tons.
Net export sales of U.S. corn shot up 48% for the week, bringing the seven-day total to 964,500 tons, but China’s role in that is unclear. The biggest sales were to what USDA labeled as being for “unknown destinations.” That total was 246,000 tons. Japan was the second largest buyer at 117,400 tons.