The week’s total included 4,680,000 bushels of hard red winter wheat, 2,800,000 bushels of hard red spring wheat, 2,262,000 bushels of soft red winter wheat and 4,444,000 bushels of soft white wheat, the USDA said.
Mexico was the principal destination with 3,879,000 bushels, following by Yemen with 1,819,000 bushels, Guatemala with 1,816,000 bushels, South Korea with 1,795,000 bushels and Japan with 1,052,000 bushels.
Still, total wheat inspections for the week fell below trade expectations of 17 million to 21 million bushels. Corn and soybean inspections for the week also were below trade expectations.
Wheat inspected for the 2012-13 marketing year through Nov. 29 totaled 460,995,000 bushels, down 14% from 533,620,000 bushels during the same period in 2011-12, the USDA said.
Wheat exports have been lagging year-ago levels in part due to high U.S. wheat prices relative to European and Black Sea region sources, and because freight costs are lower from those areas when shipping to key Middle East markets. But U.S. prices recently have become more competitive as Black Sea supply tightens.
In a tender over the weekend, Egypt bought 400,000 tonnes of wheat for shipment in January and February, including 280,000 tonnes from the U.S., 60,000 tonnes from France and 60,000 tonnes from Romania.
