October 26, 2010

US soy export inspections at 11-month high

US soy export inspections jumped last week to their highest in 11 months as the fastest harvest pace on record allowed exporters to accelerate shipment of a record-large crop.

Inspections of US soy were estimated at 68.344 million bushels in the week ended October 21, up 5% from the prior week and 31% higher than a year earlier, USDA data showed Monday (Oct 25).

The week's inspections were the largest since the week of November 19, 2009, when 80.494 million bushels were inspected for export.

About 73% of the soy inspected last week were for shipment to China, the world's top importer of the oilseed, which is forecast to import 55 million tonnes in the September 2010-August 2011 marketing year.

The US soy harvest was estimated to be 90 to 95% complete as of Sunday (Oct 24), up from the USDA projection of 83% complete the previous week. The USDA will issue its latest harvest progress report later on Monday (Oct 25).