Demand for U.S. wheat has increased on the global market

Over the past two weeks, U.S. wheat has been in strong demand among importers.

On December 4, the US Department of Agriculture confirmed the sale of a large batch of US wheat (SRW) to China – 440 thsd tonnes.
On November 30, the Taiwan Millers Association contracted 109.2 thsd tonnes of wheat of various grades from the US.
On November 28, a group of South Korean millers purchased 50 thsd tonnes of US wheat for delivery in February-March 2024.

From November 17 to 23, the export sales of U.S. wheat exceeded expectations and amounted to 622.8 thsd tonnes, which is much higher than the average for the previous four weeks. Of this volume, 197.3 thsd tonnes were purchased by China, 148.8 thsd tonnes – by an unnamed buyer, 65.8 thsd tonnes – by Mexico, 60.1 thsd tonnes – by the Philippines, 43.4 thsd tonnes – by Japan.

Despite the strong demand over the past two weeks, the exports for the whole season will be extremely low. From the beginning of the season to November 23, the U.S. exported only 12.7 mln tonnes of wheat, which is 6% less than in the same period last season. According to the forecasts of the USDA, exports for the whole season (June-July) will be the lowest in half a century and will not exceed 19.1 mln tons.

The decrease in the export potential of the U.S. wheat was caused by low carryover stocks. At the beginning of the current season, the stocks amounted to 15.8 million tons, which was the lowest value in the last fifteen years.

This season’s wheat harvest increased to 49.3 million tons, which is 1% higher than the five-year average.

Tags: China, South Korea, wheat, USA, Taiwan