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Census Revises U.S. Soy Exports

Rumors in the soybean market earlier this month that the Census Bureau had over-counted U.S. soybean exports to Mexico turned out to be true as the Bureau on Friday revised eight months of export data.

The Census Bureau revised total U.S. soybean exports to Mexico for 2003-2004 downward by downward by 717,000 metric tons or 26.3 million bushels. Revisions were made to monthly totals from September 2003 through April 2004.

The Bureau now puts total 2003-2004 U.S. soybean exports to Mexico at 2.575 million tons (94.6 million bushels) down from the previous figure of 3.293 million tons (121 million bushels).

The revision helps to explain why old-crop soybean supplies do not seem as tight as some had expected. Bullish traders earlier in the year had argued that USDA might be understating exports.

Editors note: Richard Brock, The Corn and Soybean Digest's Marketing Editor, is president of Brock Associates, a farm market advisory firm, and publisher of The Brock Report.

To see more market perspectives, visit Brock's Web site at www.brockreport.com.