US wheat exports to China growing steadily, around 1 mil mt in 2020-21 so far

New Delhi — US wheat exports to China have continued to grow steadily in recent weeks, indicating the country is seeking to fulfill its wheat commitments which have now risen close to a four-year high.

As of Sept. 24, US has exported 979,117 mt of wheat to China in 2020-21, while no shipments were seen heading to the destination at this time last year, the US Department of Agriculture's data showed Oct. 1.

US wheat 2020-21 marketing season started June 1.

China's total wheat commitments have now reached 1.48 million mt, inching to a four-year high. Outstanding sales have been declining steadily since Aug. 27, from 895,766 mt to 501,000 as of Sept. 24.

Most of the wheat sales are of Hard Red Winter and Hard Red Spring grade, accounting for 88% of China's total commitments.

China has been busy in US agriculture markets since the past few months, booking large volume of sales in its books for soybeans, corn and wheat.

US sales rise on week

US wheat export sales in the week to Sept. 24 have now risen for the fourth consecutive week, mostly led by large volumes booked by Mexico, Taiwan and South Korea, according to the USDA data.

US wheat sales hit 506,284 mt in the week ended Sept. 24, up sharply by 44% from the week-ago levels.

Export sales to Mexico were seen at 209,161 mt. This has been the biggest purchase of US wheat made by Mexico in the 2020-21 marketing season.

In terms of total commitments, the sales took Mexico past China, making it the second-largest buyer of US wheat. China has been heading the top buyer list most of the season after the Philippines since the new season began.

In the week to Sept. 24, US exported 646,090 mt of wheat, the highest in two weeks, the data showed.

Total cumulative US wheat exports to global destinations have reached 8.8 million mt since the new season started, up 4.1% from the year-ago levels, according to the USDA data.

With the marketing season in its 18th week, total commitments for US wheat account for 52.7% of the USDA's export estimates of 26.54 million mt in 2020-21.

Source: USDA