US wheat net sales dip on week as Asian buyers skip high-volume purchases

New Delhi — US wheat net export sales in the week ended Jan. 7 continued to dip for the third straight week, hitting 221,942 mt, down 19.4% from the previous week, as fewer volumes were seen booked by Asian buyers, latest data from the US Department of Agriculture showed.

However, the pace of commercial wheat sales in the latest week showed US is on track to meet the USDA's 2020-21 export forecast of 26.8 million mt.

Asian buyers, including China, have been prolific in US wheat purchases in recent weeks, but showed minimal interest in in the week ended Jan. 7.

After booking US wheat for eight straight weeks, some cancellations were seen from Chinese buyers, the USDA data showed Jan. 14.

However, exports to China continued in the week to Jan. 7, with total wheat shipments reaching 325,792 mt over the last month, an analysis of USDA's export sales showed.

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.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh emerged as the top buyer of US wheat in the latest week as it booked 55,000 mt, making it only a second such purchase in the 2020-21 marketing season.

Bangladesh's move can be attributed to the developments around Russia, which is set to introduce export quota and taxes on wheat shipments from February. Bangladesh has recently been a significant wheat market for Russia.

With the marketing season in its 31st week, total commitments for US wheat shipping to global destinations have now reached 21 million mt, 7.5% higher than the same period a year ago, according to the export sales data.

US wheat total commitments now have hit 78.6% of USDA's US wheat export forecast for 2020-21.

The USDA kept US wheat export forecast the 2020-21 unchanged in its latest update.

Source: USDA