FI Morning Grain Comments 03/03/22

PDF attached

 

Good
morning.

 

Wheat
and WTI crude oil prices have been widely talked about over the past day after futures surged to fresh multi-year highs.  The soybean complex is rebounding in part to stronger outside vegetable oil markets.  Corn traded two-sided on lack of direction. Wheat
is seeing another wild trade with nearby Chicago and KC May wheat sharply higher.  Chicago wheat futures rose above $11.00 a bushel for the first time since 2008, extending a rally as Russia’s invasion continues. China wheat futures increased to over 3,450
yuan per ton on Thursday, a new contract high. May Malaysian palm oil settled up 148 ringgit to 6,808 ringgit.  Cash palm was up $35/ton to $1,770/ton. China May soybeans were up 0.5%, meal down 0.8%, soybean oil up 0.3% and palm 1.2% higher. 

 

 

CBOT
limits – Chicago and KC wheat stays at 75 cents

https://www.cmegroup.com/trading/price-limits.html

 

 

 

Weather

 

World
Weather Inc.

WEATHER
EVENTS AND FEATURES TO WATCH

• No
  significant changes occurred overnight
• U.S.
  hard red winter wheat areas will continue to heat today with some cooling expected from northwest to southeast in the following several days
• High
  temperatures in the 70s and lower 80s Fahrenheit will accelerate drying across the region
• Winter
  wheat hardiness will be lost, although cooling this weekend into next week will slowly bring enough cool air back to restrict crop greening
• Livestock
  stress will rise because of the heat, although temperatures will only be warmest for a brief couple of hours and some wind is expected to keep animals cool
• Very
  little rain will occur in the central or southwestern U.S. hard red winter wheat areas for the coming week
• Any
  showers that occur will fail to change soil moisture or drought status
• A
  more generalized rain event is needed to bolster soil moisture and improve crop and field conditions
• Damaged
  crops from drought, extreme cold without snow cover and heaving topsoil will require a cool and wet spring for new tillers to be set and root system repair to take place
  
• Such
  an event seem unlikely in the High Plains region
• West
  Texas cotton areas will continue dry biased for the next ten days, despite a few spits and spats of moisture
• South
  Texas and the Texas Coastal Bend will continue dry biased in this coming week and “may” receive some rain next week – mostly in the Coastal Bend region
  
• California
  will get some rain and mountain snow briefly Thursday into Friday, but resulting precipitation will not fix the region’s moisture deficits and mountain snowpack will remain 53-58% of normal
• Next
  week will be dry again
• South-central
  and southwestern Canada’s Prairies will get some needed snowfall Thursday and Friday with 2 to 8 inches of snowfall and moisture totals to 0.40 inch resulting
• Frost
  in the ground will restrict the moisture from getting into the ground when the snow melts, but any moisture in the region will be good for add to on-farm water storage
• U.S.
  southeastern states will experience warm and dry biased weather for the coming week
• Rain
  is expected late next week and into the following weekend
• The
  moisture will help ease the region from recent warm and dry conditions.
• U.S.
  lower eastern Midwest, northern Delta and Tennessee River Basin are beginning to dry down and will continue to do so, before a new period of unsettled weather evolves this weekend and next week
• Concern
  will rise over planting delays this spring if the wet bias prevails too long
• A
  new storm or two will impact the northeastern U.S. Plains and upper Midwest during the next ten days
• The
  first event will occur this weekend and a second will occur next week as bitter cold air returns
• The
  weekend storm will bring snow and some rain to the region
• Argentina
  is still expecting rain in most of its crop areas through the next ten days
• Moderate
  to heavy rain may impact a part of central and north-central Argentina where a minor amount of local flooding will be possible
  
• Saturday
  into Monday will be wettest, but another round of rain is possible during mid-week next week
• Rain
  totals may range from 2.00 to 6.00 inches and locally more
• The
  rain will fall over the previously driest areas in the nation and should bring all concerns over dryness to an end – at least for a while
  
• The
  moisture comes a little too late for bolstering late season crop production potentials very much, but some improvement is expected
• Most
  of Brazil will get rain over the next ten days, as well.
• Sufficient
  amounts will occur in the south to bolster topsoil moisture and improve late full season and Safrinha crop development potentials
• Northern
  Brazil will continue a little too wet – especially from northern Mato Grosso to Tocantins and Maranhao
• Mato
  Grosso is advertised to be a little drier for a longer period of time in today’s  outlook, but rain  should fall again in the second week of the outlook.
  
• Cold
  air will be returning to Canada’s Prairies and could impact a part of the northern and central U.S. Plains and northwestern states next week
• Temperatures
  in the southeastern one-third of the United States will be warmer than usual at the same time
• There
  is still no threatening cold expected in any winter crop area in Europe or Asia through the next ten days to two weeks.
  
• Recent
  rain in northern Algeria and some neighboring areas was good for winter wheat and barley after being quite dry during the heart of winter
• Tuesday
  was mostly dry
• Follow
  up rain is expected infrequently over the next ten days leaving some need for additional moisture later this month
• Morocco
  will continue drier than desired and production cuts are already expected because some of the crop was never planted due to drought
• A
  part of Spain and Portugal will get some needed rain Thursday into Friday and again during the middle part of next week offering some temporary relief to dryness that has been prevailing in the south
  
• Greater
  rain may evolve near mid-month and if that occurs the situation will be almost ideal since spring planting and early season crop development will benefit greatly
• Southern
  Italy and the western and southern parts of the Balkans will be impacted with waves of rain in this coming week to ten days
• The
  moisture will ideal for winter crop use in the spring
• Romania
  is still a little dry and would benefit from greater precipitation, but that may not occur for a while
• Russia’s
  Southern region and areas northeast into northern Kazakhstan and southern Russia’s New Lands will get snow and a little rain late this week through the weekend and into Monday
• Accumulations
  will vary from 4 to 10 inches and the moisture will be extremely welcome for the region’s low soil moisture that has prevailed since last summer
• Some
  frost in the ground may limit the moisture from snow melt from reaching very far into the ground, but the event will still be welcome
• Temperatures
  will turn colder behind the storm for a little while next week
• Eastern
  Australia is recovering from the weekend flood event that impacted areas near the lower Queensland coast and along the upper New South Wales coast
• More
  rain is expected late this week into next week aggravating the cleanup efforts
• Rain
  this weekend into next week will also impact eastern cotton and sorghum areas which may result in some concern over fiber quality in early maturing cotton
• Sugarcane
  will not bode well because of all the excessive moisture
• A
  tropical disturbance moving toward Sri Lanka and far southern India will become better organized in the next couple of days
  
• Landfall
  is possible in Tamil Nadu late Thursday or Friday and the storm will produce some heavy rainfall and local flooding
• Eastern
  parts of Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu will receive 3.00 to more than 8.00 inches of rain
• There
  is some potential for 10-15 inches of rain in coastal Tamil Nadu
• Other
  areas of India are not likely to get much precipitation in the next ten days except in the far Eastern States and in the extreme north where some significant moisture is possible
• Southeast
  Asia rainfall will occur frequently and abundantly this week
• Flooding
  may impact southern and east-central parts of the Philippines, northwestern Sumatra, parts of peninsula Malaysia and in a few western Java locations
• Mainland
  areas of Southeast Asia will see abundant showers and thunderstorms later this week and next week as pre-monsoonal moisture begins early and aggressively
• The
  moisture will be good for immature winter crops and for prepping the soil for spring planting of corn, rice and other crops
• There
  is going to be a rising risk of flooding rain during the next ten days
• Ghana
  and Ivory Coast will receive greater amounts of rain this week easing recent dryness and improving the soil for coffee, and cocoa flowering
• Greater
  rain will still be needed in interior Nigeria and interior Cameroon as well as some Benin locations
• A
  big part of Europe will not be bothered by significant precipitation this week
• Rain
  is expected from northern and eastern Spain through western and far southern France to the U.S. and in a few southern Balkan country locations
• Central
  and eastern Turkey will be wettest this week with additional rain and mountain snow expected
  
• Some
  of the moisture will also impact northern Iraq and northern and western Iran wheat and cotton areas
• Additional
  rain in Turkey next week could raise the potential for flooding
• Xinjiang,
  China precipitation will continue restricted over the next ten days, although a few showers of rain and snow are expected
• The
  mountainous areas in the west will be wettest and a boost in snowpack is expected
• China’s
  most frequent and significant precipitation in the next ten days will be near and south of the Yangtze River where the ground will continue saturated or nearly saturated with moisture
• Waves
  of light snow will fall across China’s Northeast Provinces
• Winter
  wheat and rapeseed will remain dormant or semi-dormant and in mostly good condition
• Additional
  warming is needed in the south to improve planting conditions for rice and corn and to stimulate sugarcane development
• Not
  much moisture occurred during the weekend
• Winter
  crops are still dormant or semi-dormant and poised to perform well in the early spring
• South
  Africa will experience a good mix of rain and sunshine for late season crop development
• Summer
  crop conditions are still rated quite favorably.
• Central
  portions of the nation; including western and central summer crop areas will be wettest.
  
• East-central
  Africa precipitation has been and will continue to be most significant in Tanzania which is normal for this time of year.
  
• Ethiopia
  is dry biased along with northern Uganda and that is also normal
• Wednesday’s
  Southern Oscillation Index is +7.83 
• The
  index will move erratically this week for a little while longer and then move higher this weekend into next week
• NOAA’s
  ENSO model is still predicting La Nina through spring and possibly all summer in the Northern Hemisphere
• Confidence
  in the longer range outlook is low except in the statistical studies showing La Nina events in other 22-year solar cycle years like this persist longer than any other time
  
• Mexico
  will experience seasonable temperatures and a limited amount of rainfall during the coming week
• Central
  America precipitation will be greatest along the Caribbean Coast during the next seven to ten days and in both Panama and Costa Rica
• Guatemala
  will also get some showers periodically

Source:
World Weather Inc.

 

Bloomberg
Ag Calendar

Thursday,
March 3:

• FAO
  Food Price Index
• USDA
  weekly net-export sales for corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, pork and beef, 8:30am
• New
  Zealand Commodity Price
• HOLIDAY:
  Indonesia

Friday,
March 4:

• ICE
  Futures Europe weekly commitments of traders report, ~1:30pm
• CFTC
  commitments of traders weekly report on positions for various U.S. futures and options, 3:30pm
• FranceAgriMer
  weekly update on crop conditions

Source:
Bloomberg and FI

 

 

 

 

 

USDA
Export sales

USDA
export sales for soybeans for old crop of 857,000 tons and 1.386 million tons new-crop were near the upper end of expectations, when combined. New-crop sales for soybeans included 1.260 million tons). Product sales came in less than expected.  USDA export
sales for corn of 485,100 tons for 2021-22 and 222,800 tons new-crop were near the lower end of expectations.  Sorghum sales were 102,000 tons included 145,500 tons for China (63k switched from unknown). USDA export sales for all wheat of 300,000 tons were
near the lower end of expectations. 

 

 

 

Macros

 

Corn

·        
CBOT corn futures
turned lower after a two-sided overnight trade in part to wheat/corn spreading, despite growing demand for corn imports after wheat prices traded over $11/bu. 

·        
Iowa reported a highly lethal form of bird flu in a backyard poultry flock in Pottawattamie County.

·        
US ethanol production fell 27,000 barrels, opposite of what the trade expected, back below 1.0 million barrels to 997,000.  Stocks declined a large 574,000 barrels to 24.933 million.  A Bloomberg poll looked for weekly US ethanol
production to be up 3,000 barrels stocks up 37,000 barrels to 25.544 million.

 

Export
developments.

• Taiwan’s
  MFIG bought about 130,000 tons of corn sourced from the United States and Argentina, Some 65,000 tons of US corn was bought at $4.22 over the September 2022 contract for May 1-20 if US Gulf or May 16-June 4 is from PNW. Another 65,000 tons from Argentina was
  bought at $3.4760 over the September for June 1-20 shipment. 
• South
  Korea’s NOFI bought about 207,000 tons of animal feed corn.  They passed on 65,000 tons of feed wheat.
• One
  consignment for arrival in South Korea around May 20 was bought at an estimated premium of 309 cents over the May.
• Second
  consignment for arrival in South Korea around June 1 was bought at a premium of 353.50 cents over July.
• Third
  consignment for arrival in South Korea around June 10 was bought at a premium of 345.50 cents over the July.

 

Soybeans

·        
CBOT
soybean complex bounced higher on technical buying, higher palm oil and strength in US energy markets.  Malaysian palm oil futures remain near contract highs. 

·        
India’s sunflower oil imports fell 54% during February to 140,000 tons from January due to Black Sea shipping problems. Palm oil imports in February fell to 470,000 tons and soybean oil imports dropped 5.5% to 370,000 tons.

·        
In a webinar covered by Reuters, palm oil imports by India could fall and China flat during 2021-22.  India’s palm oil imports for 2021-22 were projected at 7.63 million tons, compared to 8.89 million tons in 2020-21, according
to the Indian Vegetable Oil Producers’ Association.  China palm oil imports in 2022 were projected at 6.7 million tons, compared to 6.63 million tons previous year, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Council.

·        
Indonesia’s mandatory 20 percent domestic market palm oil selling obligation might be reviewed by the government after global vegetable oil prices surged. 

·        
May Malaysian palm oil settled up 148 ringgit to 6,808 ringgit.  Cash palm was up $35/ton to $1,770/ton.

·        
From this time yesterday morning Rotterdam meal was mostly 3-9 euros higher and vegetable oils 25-80 euros higher.

·        
The Dalian Commodity Exchange on March 9^th plans to adjust margin requirements for speculative traders for palm oil and adjust regular margins for meal, soybean oil, soybeans and corn. 

·        
China May soybeans were up 0.5%, meal down 0.8%, soybean oil up 0.3% and palm 1.2% higher. 

·        
Offshore values are leading SBO 133 points higher and meal $8.80 short ton higher.

·        
StoneX estimated Brazil 202122 soybean production at 121.17 million tons, down from 126.5 million previous.

 

Export
Developments

• None
  reported

 

Wheat

·        
Chicago wheat futures rose above $11.00 a bushel for the first time since 2008, extending a rally as Russia’s invasion continues.

·        
There is chatter the EU may limit wheat exports and set aside land for crop use. 

·        
May Paris wheat futures were up 5.25 euros at 246 euros at the time this was written.

·        
Turkey bought a less than expected amount of wheat this week due to high prices. 

·        
China wheat futures increased to over 3,450 yuan per ton on Thursday, a new contract high. Domestic prices are up sharply, by more than 100 yuan in the past week, with bids as high as 3,250 yuan per ton.

·        
About 3000 employees with the Canadian Pacific Railway voted for a plan to strike March 16, if both sides fails to reach terms, which could threaten potash shipments. Sanctions against Russia and Belarus have already put a short
term strain on global supplies. 

·        
largest railways is threatening to further disrupt global supplies of fertilizer just as farmers need key nutrients to plant spring crops.

·        
Bulgaria is holding up grain loadings over an increase in custom checks, leading some to think an export ban could be put in place. 

 

Export
Developments.

·        
South Korea’s NOFI group passed on 65,000 tons of feed wheat.  They bought corn.

·        
Turkey ended up buying 285,000 tons of wheat this week, below initial announcements of 370,000 tons as they scaled back due to high prices. 

·        
Bangladesh seeks 50,000 tons of milling wheat on March 16 for shipment within 40 days of contract signing. 

·        
Jordan’s state grains buyer seeks 120,000 tons of milling wheat on March 9.  Shipment is between LH May and LH July.

·        
Japan bought some wheat from the US.  Japan seeks 83,136 tons of food wheat from the US this week for loading between April 21 and May 20, 2022.

·        
Jordan’s state grains buyer seeks 120,000 tons of feed barley on March 15.  Shipment is between July 16-31, Aug. 1-15, Aug. 16-31 and Sept. 1-15.

 

Rice/Other

·        
Results awaited: South Korea seeks 72,200 tons rice from U.S. and Vietnam on Feb. 25.

 

 

USDA Export sales

U.S. EXPORT SALES FOR WEEK ENDING  2/24/2022

 

 

This
summary is based on reports from exporters for the period February 18-24, 2022.

Wheat:  Net
sales of 300,000 metric tons (MT) for 2021/2022 were down 42 percent from the previous week, but up 54 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases primarily for Mexico (90,100 MT, including decreases of 21,500 MT), Japan (66,900 MT), Taiwan (56,300 MT),
Colombia (40,100 MT, including 38,000 MT switched from unknown destinations), and the Philippines (36,700 MT), were offset by reductions primarily for unknown destinations (35,500 MT) and El Salvador (15,200 MT).  Net sales of 69,800 MT for 2022/2023 were
reported for Mexico (38,000 MT), the Philippines (24,000 MT), Trinidad (5,800 MT), and Honduras (2,000 MT).  Exports of 364,800 MT were down 33 percent from the previous week and 15 percent from the prior 4-week average.  The destinations were primarily to
Mexico (82,600 MT), the Philippines (67,700 MT), Nigeria (52,600 MT), Colombia (40,100 MT), and Taiwan (38,500 MT). 

Corn: 
Net sales of 485,100 MT for 2021/2022 were down 53 percent from the previous week and 47 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases primarily for Japan (320,400 MT, including 267,700 MT switched from unknown destinations and decreases of 21,000 MT),
Mexico (180,200 MT, including decreases of 32,000 MT), Colombia (125,400 MT, including 121,300 MT switched from unknown destinations and decreases of 80,300 MT), the Dominican Republic (48,400 MT, including decreases of 9,600 MT), and Canada (34,000 MT, including
decreases of 500 MT), were offset by reductions primarily for unknown destinations (274,600 MT).  Net sales of 222,800 MT for 2022/2023 were reported for Japan (192,900 MT, including 167,000 MT – late), Honduras (19,900 MT), and Canada (10,000 MT).  Exports
of 1,550,800 MT were down 18 percent from the previous week, but up 7 percent from the prior 4-week average.  The destinations were primarily to Japan (456,700 MT), China (344,500 MT), Mexico (330,000 MT), Colombia (121,500 MT), and Canada (110,500 MT). 

Optional Origin
Sales: 
For 2021/2022, options were exercised to export 50,000 MT to unknown destinations from the United States.  The current outstanding balance of 170,800 MT is for unknown destinations (65,000 MT), South Korea (65,000 MT), Italy (31,800
MT), and Saudi Arabia (9,000 MT).  For 2022/2023, the current outstanding balance of 3,900 MT is for Italy.

Late
Reporting: For 2022/2023,
net sales totaling 167,000 MT of corn were reported late for Japan.

Barley: 
No net sales or exports were reported for the week.

Sorghum: 
Net sales of 102,000 MT for 2021/2022 were up 69 percent from the previous week, but down 5 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases reported for China (145,000 MT, including 63,000 MT switched from unknown destinations), Mexico (10,500 MT), and Japan
(9,500 MT), were offset by reductions for unknown destinations (63,000 MT).  Exports of 138,500 MT were down 46 percent from the previous week and 19 percent from the prior 4-week average.  The destinations were to China (136,600 MT) and Mexico (1,900 MT).

Rice: 
Net sales of 70,000 MT for 2021/2022 were down 17 percent from the previous week and 39 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases primarily for Japan (25,000 MT), Haiti (15,300 MT), Guatemala (9,500 MT), Saudi Arabia (8,600 MT), and Honduras (7,100
MT), were offset by reductions primarily for Mexico (7,900 MT).  Exports of 81,100 MT were down 31 percent from the previous week, but up 2 percent from the prior 4-week average.  The destinations were primarily to Nicaragua (26,400 MT), Mexico (18,000 MT),
Japan (13,000 MT), Saudi Arabia (9,400 MT), and El Salvador (8,600 MT).

Exports for Own
Account: For 2021/2022, the current exports for own account outstanding
balance is 100 MT, all Canada.

Soybeans: 
Net sales of 857,000 MT for 2021/2022 were down 31 percent from the previous week and 34 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases primarily for unknown destinations (345,900 MT), Egypt (178,000 MT), Italy (92,000 MT), Taiwan (69,400 MT, including
decreases of 100 MT), and Mexico (63,000 MT, including decreases of 13,000 MT), were offset by reductions for China (15,000 MT) and Costa Rica (1,400 MT).  Net sales of 1,386,000 MT for 2022/2023 were reported for China (1,260,000 MT, including 132,000 MT
– late) and unknown destinations (126,000 MT).  Exports of 751,000 MT were down 40 percent from the previous week and from the prior 4-week average.  The destinations were primarily to China (410,700 MT), Japan (126,400 MT), Mexico (81,400 MT), Colombia (35,400
MT), and Taiwan (32,100 MT). 

Export
for Own Account:
For 2021/2022, the current exports for own account outstanding balance is 3,000 MT, all Canada.

Late
Reporting:
For 2022/2023, net sales totaling 132,000 MT of soybeans were reported late for China.

Soybean Cake and
Meal:  Net sales of 95,400 MT for 2021/2022 were down 59 percent
from the previous week and 72 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases primarily for the Dominican Republic (33,200 MT), the Philippines (19,100 MT, including decreases of 900 MT), unknown destinations (17,000 MT), Canada (16,100 MT, including decreases
of 3,000 MT), and Colombia (13,900 MT), were offset by reductions primarily for Costa Rica (25,900 MT), Guatemala (7,000 MT), and El Salvador (3,700 MT).  Total net sales of 60,000 MT for 2022/2023 were for unknown destinations.  Exports of 143,000 MT–a marketing-year
low–were down 60 percent from the previous week and 48 percent from the prior 4-week average.  The destinations were primarily to the Philippines (44,900 MT), Mexico (25,700 MT), Canada (18,500 MT), Nicaragua (11,300 MT), and the Dominican Republic (11,000
MT). 

Soybean Oil: 
Net sales of 6,600 MT for 2021/2022 were down 81 percent from the previous week and 66 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases primarily for the Dominican Republic (5,700 MT) and El Salvador (1,500 MT), were offset by reductions for Mexico (1,100
MT) and Guatemala (1,000 MT).  Exports of 13,700 MT were down 50 percent  from the previous week and 27 percent from the prior 4-week average.  The destinations were primarily to the Dominican Republic (12,000 MT) and Mexico (1,200 MT).

Cotton: 
Net sales of 348,600 RB for 2021/2022 were up 41 percent from the previous week and 51 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases were primarily for Vietnam (96,900 RB, including 1,200 RB switched from Japan and decreases of 200 RB), China (75,800 RB),
Turkey (63,600 RB), Pakistan (42,500 RB, including decreases of 100 RB), and Bangladesh (12,900 RB).  Net sales of 105,200 RB for 2022/2023 primarily for Vietnam (75,800 RB), Mexico (15,000 RB), Pakistan (6,200 RB), Bangladesh (3,900 RB), and Indonesia (3,100
RB), were offset by reductions for China (700 RB).  Exports of 354,100 RB were down 6 percent from the previous week, but up 14 percent from the prior 4-week average.  The destinations were primarily to China (143,600 RB, including 5,200 RB – late), Pakistan
(65,200 RB), Vietnam (39,600 RB, including 1,000 RB – late), Turkey (37,400 RB), and Mexico (12,000 RB).  Net sales of Pima totaling 7,400 RB were up 51 percent from the previous week and 40 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases were primarily
for India (3,900 RB), China (2,200 RB), Honduras (500 RB), Thailand (300 RB), and Bangladesh (200 RB).  Total net sales for 2022/2023 of 900 RB were for Peru.  Exports of 11,000 RB were down 39 percent from the previous week and 23 percent from the prior 4-week
average.  The destinations were primarily to Vietnam (3,200 RB), China (1,900 RB), India (1,900 RB), Peru (1,500 RB), and Egypt (900 RB). 

Optional Origin
Sales:  For 2021/2022, the current outstanding balance of 61,600
RB is for Vietnam (52,800 RB) and Pakistan (8,800 RB). 

Exports for Own
Account: For 2021/2022, the current exports for own account outstanding
balance is 100 RB, all Vietnam.

Late
Reporting: For 2021/2022,
exports totaling 6,900 MT of upland cotton were reported late to China (5,200 RB), Vietnam (1,000 RB), Indonesia (400 RB), and Thailand (300 RB).

Hides
and Skins: 
Net sales of 453,500 pieces for 2022 were up 19 percent from the previous week and 11 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases primarily for China (299,900 whole cattle hides, including decreases of 20,400 pieces), South Korea (66,200 whole cattle
hides, including decreases of 600 pieces), Taiwan (30,300 whole cattle hides, including decreases of 100 pieces), Mexico (28,900 whole cattle hides, including decreases of 800 pieces), and Brazil (22,100 whole cattle hides, including decreases of 100 pieces),
were offset by reductions for Turkey (200 pieces) and Italy (200 pieces).  Total net sales reductions of 600 kip skins were for Belgium.  Exports of 353,700 pieces were down 12 percent from the previous and 6 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Whole cattle
hides exports were primarily to China (229,100 pieces), Mexico (47,200 pieces), South Korea (25,700 pieces), Thailand (21,100 pieces), and Taiwan (8,900 pieces).  In addition, exports of 7,800 kip skins were to Belgium.

Net
sales of 35,300 wet blues for 2022 were down 69 percent from the previous week and 64 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases primarily for Taiwan (10,200 unsplit), Thailand (7,200 unsplit, including decreases of 100 unsplit), Vietnam (5,000 unsplit,
including decreases of 100 unsplit), China (4,600 unsplit), and Portugal (4,600 unsplit),
were offset by reductions for Italy (300 grain splits).  Exports of 69,100 wet blues were down 38 percent from the previous week and 47 percent from the prior 4-week average.  The destinations were primarily to Thailand (22,400 unsplit), Italy (9,600 unsplit
and 6,800 grain splits), Vietnam (15,400 unsplit), Hong Kong (4,000 unsplit), and Mexico (3,600 unsplit).  Net sales of 373,600 splits primarily for China (167,000 pounds) and Vietnam (151,900 pounds, including decreases of 53,100 pounds), were offset by reductions
for South Korea (27,200 pounds).  Exports of 643,200 pounds were to Vietnam (439,600 pounds), South Korea (159,600 pounds), and China (44,000 pounds).

Beef: 
Net sales of 23,800 MT for 2022 were up 64 percent from the previous week and 23 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases were primarily for South Korea (9,800 MT, including decreases of 500 MT), China (4,100 MT, including decreases of 200 MT), Japan
(2,800 MT, including decreases of 700 MT), Taiwan (2,000 MT, including decreases of 300 MT), and Canada (1,300 MT).  Exports of 17,600 MT were up 15 percent from the previous week and 11 percent from the prior 4-week average.  The destinations were primarily
to South Korea (5,200 MT), Japan (4,500 MT), China (2,700 MT), Mexico (1,400 MT), and Taiwan (1,200 MT). 

Pork: 
Net sales of 42,200 MT for 2022 were up 59 percent from the previous week and 80 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases were primarily for Mexico (17,000 MT, including decreases of 700 MT), China (16,600 MT, including decreases of 300 MT), Japan
(3,000 MT, including decreases of 200 MT), South Korea (2,400 MT, including decreases of 900 MT), and Canada (1,300 MT, including decreases of 400 MT).  Exports of 30,100 MT were unchanged from the previous week, but down 3 percent from the prior 4-week average. 
The destinations were primarily to Mexico (12,900 MT), Japan (4,500 MT), China (4,300 MT), South Korea (2,800 MT), and Colombia (1,400 MT).