The latest round of export sales data from USDA, out Thursday morning and covering the week through April 8, didn’t have a lot of helpful data for traders to digest. Corn, soybeans and wheat all fell lower week-over-week, with old crop wheat sales landing at a marketing-year low for the second consecutive week. But sorghum sales offered a pleasant surprise, in contrast, rising to a marketing-year high.

Corn exports saw old crop sales fall 81% below the prior four-week average to 12.9 million bushels. New crop sales added another 2.1 million bushels for a total tally of 15.0 million bushels. That was below the entire range of trade guesses, which came in between 19.7 million and 47.2 million bushels. Despite another disappointing week, overall sales for the 2020/21 marketing year remain strong, staying well ahead of last year’s pace at 1.488 billion bushels.

Corn export shipments slipped 12% below the prior four-week average to 71.5 million bushels. China led all destinations, with 20.5 million bushels. Mexico, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan rounded out the top five.

Sorghum export sales climbed to a marketing-year high of 25.9 million bushels in old crop sales. New crop sales found another 7.9 million bushels, making a total tally of 33.8 million bushels. China and unknown destinations were the primary buyers. Sorghum export shipments also saw a marketing-year high last week, with 33.9 million bushels.

Soybean export sales saw old crop sales reaching only 3.3 million bushels last week, falling 14% below the prior four-week average. New crop sales added 9.8 million bushels for a total haul of 13.1 million bushels. Analysts were unsure overall about how sales would track this week, with trade guesses ranging from net reductions of 3.7 million bushels to a surplus of 25.7 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2020/21 marketing year are still nearly doubling last year’s pace, with 2.039 billion bushels.

Soybean export shipments also slipped 10% beneath the prior four-week average, to 15.2 million bushels. Mexico was the No. 1 destination, with 3.6 million bushels. An Asian quartet of China, Indonesia, Taiwan and South Korea filled out the top five.

Old crop wheat sales spilled noticeably below the prior four-week average to a new marketing-year low of a net reduction of 2.1 million bushels. New crop sales found 10.1 million bushels, for a balance of 8.0 million bushels. That was below the range of trade guesses, which came in between 12.9 million and 27.6 million bushels. Cumulative sales for the 2020/21 marketing year have slipped slightly below last year’s pace, with 763.8 million bushels.

Wheat export shipments dipped 16% below the prior four-week average, to 17.2 million bushels. The Philippines led all destinations, with just under 4.0 million bushels. Mexico, China, South Korea and Nigeria rounded out the top five.

Click here for more highlights and insights from the latest USDA export report, which covers April 2 through April 8.