The reporting week for the export sales reporting system is Friday-Thursday. The Secretary of Agriculture has the authority to add other commodities to this list. What is Reported U.S. exporters provide information on the quantity of their sales transactions, the type and class of commodity, the marketing year of shipment, and the destination. They also report any changes in previously reported information, such as cancellations and changes in destinations. The Weekly US Export Sales Report published by the Foreign Agricultural Service of the USDA is an excellent tool for guaging the level of US commodity export demand during the marketing year.
Exports respond to prices reflecting changes in anticipated supply and demand.
Price is the instrument a marketplace uses to ration the use of commodities when demand exceeds supply, or increase consumption when supply exceeds demand. The export market reacts quickly to changing supply and demand signals. Farmer, merchant and end users can all benefit by monitoring this report on a weekly basis. The US Export Sales Summary report lists each commodity and totals while the individual commodity detailed reports include destination information. The export sales report details the weekly activity as reported to the FAS by exporters.