LUBBOCK, TEXAS, US — Strong demand from China drove new export sales commitments of US sorghum to a marketing-year high of 422,078 tonnes (16.6 million bushels), according to US Department of Agriculture data issued Dec. 16.

Tim Lust, chief executive officer of National Sorghum Producers, said export demand for sorghum, particularly from China, remains strong, as indicated by the report.

“This marketing-year high is very assuring as we wrap up one growing season and head into the next, all the while as we continue to increase and diversify demand and development of new markets internationally and domestically for sorghum farmers,” Lust said.

Sales reported the week of Dec. 16 were up 27% from the previous week and up 57% from the prior four-week average. In addition to a marketing-year high in sorghum sales, 12.4 million bushels were shipped primarily to China, another marketing-year high, up considerably from the previous week and up 81% from the prior four-week average.

Purchases of US sorghum as of the Dec. 16 export report were just over 200 million bushels, or 63% of what was estimated in the December 2021 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report with eight months remaining in the marketing year.