US corn net export sales up 23% on week at 1.235 million mt: USDA

Houston — US net export sales of corn for the 2019-20 marketing year totaled 1.235 million mt in the week ended January 23, up 23% from the 1.007 million mt in the previous week, Department of Agriculture data showed Thursday.

The total was up 99% from the prior four-week average, the USDA said in its Exports Sales Highlights report.

In addition to the exports sales for the 2019-20 marketing year, the USDA said 143,576 mt of US corn was sold for the 2020-21 marketing year.

Market expectations for net export sales were between 600,000 mt and 1.2 million mt for the current marketing year, sources said.

So far in the 2019-20 marketing year that began September 1, total commitments – cumulative exports plus outstanding sales – have reached 21.543 million mt, down 33% year on year and 32% below the five-year average. That total was up to 48% of the USDA's projection of 45.087 million mt of export sales for the current marketing year.

Outstanding export sales of US corn – product sold but not yet shipped – for the current marketing year totaled 11.035 million mt, 15% below the year-ago level and 31% below the five-year average, the USDA said.

The top buyers in the current marketing year include Mexico at 9.521 million mt, Japan at 3.689 million mt, Colombia at 2.041 million mt, and Guatemala at 762,024 mt, the data showed.

The top corn buyers in the most recent week for deliveries in 2019-20 include Colombia with 228,034 mt, Mexico with 190,153 mt, and Gutemala with 106,310 mt.

The top corn buyers for deliveries in 2020-21 were Japan with 113,852 mt and Guatemala with 29,724 mt.

Since the start of the marketing year, 1.687 million mt of US corn has been committed for unknown destinations, including this week's sales of 344,988 mt, USDA data showed.

Net sales are considered a more appropriate indicator of the strength of the corn market than physical exports, because they reflect new sales. The outstanding export sales are considered an indicator of the strength of the New Orleans CIF barge corn market.

Of the total estimated US corn production for 2019-20, 12.9% is projected to be exported, and US corn total exports are estimated to be 27.2% of the total corn exported in the world.

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