U.S. Wheat Exports Expected to Hit 5-Year High

WASHINGTON, DC – Could U.S. wheat exports surpass a five-year average during this marketing year? According to the latest data from USDA, the answer would be yes. Halfway through the current marketing year (2019/2020), the government expects total wheat exports to reach 26.5 million metric tons. If realized, this would top last year by more than 4 percent and exceed the five-year average by 7 percent. According to the U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), commercial sales to 11 of the top 20 markets are ahead of last year’s pace and total export sales to all destinations are 6 percent ahead of sales on the same date in 2018/2019. In addition, USDA expects the farmers to export 10.6 million metric tons of hard red winter wheat (HRW), 18 percent more than last season. Exports to three of the top five HRW export markets are significantly ahead of last year’s pace. Sales to Mexico, the largest market for HRW, are 30 percent ahead of last year. Exports to Nigeria are 19 percent ahead of last year and sales to Taiwan are 41 percent ahead of the previous year’s pace.