Houston — The amount of US corn inspected for export in the week ended August 9 was at 1.262 million mt, 2% lower week on week compared with 1.289 million mt inspected in the previous week, Department of Agriculture data showed Monday.
The amount of corn inspected was 65.7% higher than the 761,317 mt in the year-ago week, according to the USDA's weekly Federal Grain Inspection Service report.
The largest share of US grain exports last week was corn, at 54.7% of the total grains inspected for export. Soybeans were second at 25.2%, followed by wheat at 20%, according to the data.
In the 49 weeks since the current marketing year began on September 1, 2017, the amount of US corn inspected for export has totaled 54.036 million mt, 1% lower than in the same period the previous marketing year and 88.7% of the USDA's projection of 60.963 million mt for the current marketing year ending August 31.
US export shipments were below the weekly pace needed to reach the USDA's latest estimates for exports this marketing year, according to the data.
The data showed the total amount of US corn that was inspected leaving the US Gulf Coast was 749,589 mt: 687,591 mt of yellow corn and 61,998 mt of white corn. The top destinations were Mexico with 196,054 mt of yellow corn and 38,898 mt of white corn, Colombia with 147,215 mt of yellow corn and Japan with 101,734 mt of yellow corn.
The amount of US corn inspected leaving the US Pacific Coast was 303,302 mt of yellow corn. The destinations were Japan with 175,687 mt, Taiwan with 67,868 mt and South Korea with 59,747 mt.
US corn that was inspected leaving the Interior region was 209,009 mt -- 198,738 of yellow corn and 10,271 of white corn. The top destinations were Mexico with 178,222 mt of yellow corn and 10,271 mt of white corn, and Taiwan with 18,436 mt of yellow corn.
US corn inspected for export is corn that has been sold and is 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 is the main competitor for dried distillers grains.
