China books more US wheat in latest week; overall US sales dip: USDA

New Delhi — China purchased more wheat from US farmers in the week ended Dec. 31, 2020, continuing the country's buying spree for the eighth straight week, and indicating that US wheat exports to China are expected to remain strong in the coming weeks.

China booked 55,371 mt of US wheat in the week to Dec. 31, purchasing about 259,800 mt of wheat in the past eight weeks, data from the US Department of Agriculture showed Jan. 7.

China's total commitments for US wheat in the 2020-21 marketing season have now reached 2.4 million mt, a seven-year high, according to the data.

Of that volume, China already has shipped in 1.7 million mt of US wheat, accounting for 20% of imports estimated for the country in 2020-21, USDA's forecast data showed.

In November, China's wheat imports from the US accounted for 37% of total shipments in the month, according to JCI China.

China remains the third-largest buyer of US wheat in 2020-21 after Mexico and the Philippines. US wheat marketing year runs from June through May.

Analysts have said China's grain hunting is expected to continue in 2021 amid the country's plans for further strengthening its food security and meeting burgeoning domestic demand.

US weekly sales dip

US wheat net export sales in the week to Dec. 31 dipped 47.1% from the previous week to 275,313 mt, according to the USDA data.

Taiwan emerged as the largest buyer of US wheat in the week, followed by China, Mexico and the Philippines.

Mexico and the Philippines are in a neck-and-neck race for the top buyer position for the 2020-21 marketing season, the data showed.

In 2019-20, total US wheat sales to Mexico reached 2.7 million mt while the Philippines purchased 2.4 million mt, an analysis of the USDA data showed.

With the marketing season in its 30th week, total commitments for US wheat shipping to global destinations have now reached 20.8 million mt, hitting 77.7% of USDA's US wheat export target for 2020-21.

The USDA is expecting the US to export 26.8 million mt of wheat in 2020-21, but traders are of the view that the export numbers may change in the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, due in the week starting Jan. 10.

Source: USDA