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**U.S. Export Sales Reports**
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**JANUARY 28, 1999**
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| The next report will be        released on Thursday, February 4, 1999.
If        you have any questions, please call (202) 720-3273 or        email Export Sales. |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Weekly export sales reports serve as a timelyearly warning system on the possible impact of agriculturalobligations on U.S. supplies and prices. The data can be used,for example, to assess the level of export demand, to determinewhere markets exist, and to assess the relative position ofdifferent commodities in those markets. 

The majority of the principal U.S. agriculturalexports, which are forecast to reach $55 billion in fiscal year1998, are monitored on both a daily and weekly basis by the U.S.Department of Agriculture (USDA) through its export salesreporting system. This monitoring system provides a constantstream of up-to-date information on the quantity of U.S.agricultural commodities that are sold abroad.

| Export        Sales Reporting Regulations |
|-------------------------------------------|

| - Weekly Highlights
- Weekly Export Performance Indicator
- Weekly Cotton Summary
- Weekly Hides Summary | - Weekly Summary Activity
- Weekly Summary Reports
- Complete Weekly Report
- Marketing Year Final Reports |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| Wheat
-- Hard red winter        -- Soft red winter        -- Hard red spring        -- White        -- Durum        -- Wheat products                                                    | Cotton
-- American Pima - Raw, extra long staple        -- Upland - Raw, staple length 1 1/16" and over        -- Upland - Raw, staple length 1" up to 1 1/16"        -- Upland - Raw, staple length under 1"                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Feed Grains
--        Barley        -- Corn        -- Rye        -- Oats        -- Grain        Sorghums                                                                                 | Oilseeds
--        Soybeans        -- Soybean        Cake and Meal        -- Soybean Oil        -- Flaxseed        -- Linseed Oil        -- Sunflowerseed        Oil        -- Cottonseed        -- Cottonseed        Cake and Meal        -- Cottonseed        Oil                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| Rice
-- Long grain, brown        -- Medium, short and other classes, brown        -- Long grain, milled        -- Medium, short and other classes, milled                                | Hides and Skins
-- Whole cattle hides, excluding wet blues        -- Whole calf skins,excluding wet blues        -- Whole kip skins, excluding wet blues        -- Cattle calf, and kip cut into croupons, crops,        dossets, sides, butts and butt ends        -- Cattle, calf and kip in cuts not otherwise specified        -- Wet blues - unsplit hide equivalent        -- Wet blues - grain splits hide equivalent        -- Wet blues - splits, excluding grain splits |
| Weekly Net Sales and Exports
--1st week of month        --2nd        week of month        --3rd        week of month        --4th        week of month        --5th        week of month | Complete Weekly Reports
--1st week of month        --2nd        week of month        --3rd        week of month        --4th        week of month        --5th        week of month                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |

AdditionalBackground

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| *Last modified: Wednesday, January 27, 1999* |