US DATA: Corn inspections for export up 52% on week, 104% on year

Houston — US corn inspected for exports in the week ended Jan. 21 totaled 1.391 mt, up 52% from the prior week, 104% from the same week in the previous year, the US Department of Agriculture said Jan. 25 in its weekly Federal Grain Inspection Service report.

Since the 2020-21 marketing year started on Sept. 1, the volume of US corn inspected for exports has totaled 18.737 million mt, 84% above the same period in the previous marketing year.

The total volume of US corn inspected for exports in the current marketing year has reached 29% of the USDA's latest projection of US corn export sales at 64.77 million mt.

Despite the increased pace, US export shipments still below the average weekly pace needed to reach the USDA estimate of exports in the 2020-21 marketing year, market participants said.

The top destination for US corn was Japan with a total of 518,021 mt -- 169,194 mt for departure from the US Gulf Coast and 348,827 mt leaving from the Pacific Northwest region.

The second top destination was Mexico with a total of 214,510 mt of yellow corn.

The volume of US corn inspected for departure from the US Gulf Coast totaled 803,898 mt, all of it yellow corn. The top destinations were Japan with 169,164 mt, Colombia with 90,574 mt of yellow corn, Taiwan with 71,405 mt, China with 70,500 mt, and Mexico with 69,296 mt.

The amount of yellow corn inspected for departure from the US Pacific Coast totaled 418,375 mt. The top destinations were Japan with 348,827 mt and South Korea with 69,401 mt. China was the destination for 97 mt of white corn.

Inspections of corn leaving the Interior region totaled 169,085 mt, with 153,493 mt of yellow corn and 15,568 mt of white corn. The main destinations were Mexico with 129,645 mt of yellow corn and 15,568 mt of white corn, and Taiwan with 21,790 mt of yellow corn.

The largest share of US grain exports inspected last week was soybeans at 49%. Corn was second at 34% followed by wheat at 13%.

US corn inspected for exports is corn that has been sold and inspected during loading at export locations for shipment overseas. Traders consider the pace needed to meet the USDA projection an indicator of demand.

Corn is the primary feedstock for ethanol production in the US and the main competitor for dried distiller grains in the feed ration.

US corn inspected for export (mt):

Source: USDA