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Welcome back! Today we’re breaking down export sales, flash deals, China/Brazil soybean news, ethanol margins, and record-setting Black Friday spending. 👇

📦 Weekly Export Sales (Backdated Again…)
Corn:
USDA reported 2.8mmt (111 mil bu) in net corn sales for the week ending Oct 16—well above expectations and sharply higher than last week. Mexico was the top buyer.
I continue to believe that in real time, US corn sales are running at a record pace, despite the outdated data.
Soybeans:
Net sales hit 1.1mmt (41 mil bu), up 41% from last week. The Netherlands was the top buyer.
Wheat:
Came in at 341,300mt (13 mil bu), below expectations and down 44% from last week. Colombia was the top buyer.

🚨 Flash Sales Update
USDA reported multiple flashes Friday:
• 312,000mt (11 mil bu) of soybeans sold to China for 25/26
• 273,988mt (11 mil bu) of corn sold to Unknown for 25/26

Through Flash Sales alone, China has achieved 18.1% of the 12mmt pre-January purchase goal.
There are 22 business days left in 2025.
China must average 443,136mt/day to hit the White House target.

🇨🇳🇧🇷 China Suspends Some Brazilian Soybean Imports
China halted shipments from five Brazilian export facilities after detecting pesticide-treated wheat contamination. Impacted companies include Cargill, CHS, and Louis Dreyfus.
Exports from unaffected plants will continue — China still has 2,000+ approved Brazilian facilities. Similar issues earlier this year were resolved quickly.

🍺 Ethanol Production & Margins
• Production rose to 1.11 mil bpd last week (+2% WoW).
• Stocks fell to 21.97 mil barrels (-1.5% WoW).
• Both metrics are slightly stronger vs. the same week last year.
Margins remain solid:
Reuters shows Corn Belt ethanol plants earning +10¢ to +40¢ per gallon depending on local corn, DDGs, and inputs.

🛍️ Black Friday: Record Online Spending
US consumers spent $11.8B online on Black Friday (+9.1% YoY) and another $6.4B on Thanksgiving Day.
In-store traffic fell 3.6% YoY.
Despite tariff uncertainty and a softening job market, analysts still expect holiday spending to top $1T this season—with more shoppers leaning on buy-now-pay-later options.