USDA Export Sales: soybean shipments hit a marketing-year high as China leads destinations

U.S. soybean exports are moving even as new-crop sales cool from last week’s surge. In Thursday’s Weekly Export Sales report covering the week ended Oct. 29, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service showed soybean shipments at a marketing-year high while corn stayed in the middle of trade estimates and wheat slowed from the prior week, according to the FAS commodity summary and Pro Farmer’s read of the numbers.

Soybeans: shipments lead, China still on the board

FAS put net soybean sales for 2026/27 at 1.456 million metric tons, down 44% from the previous week and 11% from the prior four-week average. Pro Farmer said that still landed inside analyst expectations that ranged from 950,000 to 2.5 million tons. Pro Farmer said the week’s soybean increases were primarily for China (873,900 metric tons), and that figure included 442,000 tons switched out of the unknown-destination column.

The clearer bullish detail was physical movement. Weekly soybean exports were 2.531 million MT — a marketing-year high — up 6% from the prior week and 46% from the four-week average, per FAS and Pro Farmer. Brownfield’s Thursday market wrap framed export sales as still solid at about 53.5 million bushels for the week, primarily to China and Algeria, even after a significant cancellation by unknown destinations.

That combination — softer net sales but heavy shipments — matters for cash basis into harvest wrap-up. Elevators that already sold beans against earlier bookings can keep shipping; growers watching January futures still need follow-through buying to rebuild outstanding sales after the week-to-week drop.

Corn: steady sales, faster loadings

Corn net sales for 2026/27 were 1.294 million MT, down 1% from the previous week but up 10% from the prior four-week average, FAS reported. Pro Farmer said that sat within a wide estimate band of 800,000 MT to 1.8 MMT. Weekly corn exports jumped to 1.029 million MT, up 86% from the prior week though still 4% below the four-week average.

Brownfield put corn sales at about 51 million bushels, led by Mexico and unknown destinations, and noted that near-term Midwest forecasts looked clear enough for many farms to finish harvest by mid-month. The next big production check is USDA’s Nov. 10 WASDE, with Brazil’s CONAB update due Nov. 13, Brownfield said.

Wheat: off last week’s high

All-wheat net sales were 538,000 MT for 2026/27, down 37% from the previous week but up 16% from the four-week average, according to FAS. Pro Farmer said trade guesses had ranged from 300,000 to 650,000 MT. Brownfield converted the week to about 19.8 million bushels and named the Philippines and South Korea as leading buyers, with Peru and Mexico booking a combined 700,000 bushels for 2027/28.

Demand worries still capped wheat’s upside in Thursday’s trade, Brownfield said, even as contracts looked oversold. Winter wheat in the Plains needs more moisture heading into dormancy despite some recent improvement.

What it means for farm marketing

• Watch outstanding sales, not just one week’s net. FAS showed soybeans with about 18.21 MMT of outstanding sales and 12.02 MMT already exported for a 30.23 MMT total commitment; corn’s total commitment was about 24.79 MMT.
• China remains the swing factor for beans. Thursday’s destination mix kept Chinese demand visible even as net sales cooled.
• Do not treat FAS bushel conversions as CME settlements. For official futures closes, use CME Group agriculture settlements.

For related coverage, see our earlier look at China’s non-soybean purchase pledge and Thursday’s Nov. 5 Daily Ag Business Briefing. More market wraps live in our Markets section.

Frequently asked questions

When was this Export Sales week released?

USDA FAS released Weekly Export Sales on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, for the week ended Oct. 29, 2026.

What is a marketing-year high for soybean exports?

In this report, weekly soybean shipments of about 2.531 million metric tons were the highest so far in the 2026/27 marketing year that began Sept. 1, according to FAS and Pro Farmer.

When is the next WASDE?

Brownfield said USDA’s next supply, demand and production numbers are due Nov. 10, 2026.