Investment in market expansion continues to show returns to Texas producers as the 2025/2026 marketing year finished with the highest exports on record since 2020-2021. Final export inspections closed at 871 million bushels for the year. The 15% year-over-year increase is due to both strong sales in traditionally core markets and growth in swing markets for both re-emerging and price-sensitive buyers.
“U.S. wheat continued to move steadily into global markets despite a year marked by geopolitical uncertainty, volatile freight costs and intense competition from other exporting origins,” said Brian Liedl, USW vice president of overseas operations. “In a year where there were record or near-record crops in almost every major wheat exporting country, U.S. wheat found its place in the market.”
Top Destinations Highlight Variety of Buyers
By the end of May 2026, more than 55 countries purchased U.S. wheat. The top buyers included Mexico, Philippines and Japan. Other standouts include the re-entry of Nigeria with a 95% year-over-year gain, along with Indonesia, Columbia and Venezuela all recording double-digit increases.
Courtesy of U.S. Wheat Associates
HRW Shows Significant Growth
Total hard red winter exports grew an impressive 54% with exports amounting to roughly 307 million bushels for the 2025/2026 marketing year. Mexico purchased the largest share of HRW totaling nearly 78 million bushels, or 25.3% of total sales. Nigeria filled the second top buyer spot by purchasing roughly 43 million bushels, amounting to 14.2% market share. Japan, Venezuela and Bangladesh were also top destinations for HRW.
Courtesy of U.S. Wheat Associates
SRW Remains Consistent
Showing a solid 3% increase from the previous marketing year, soft red winter wheat exports reached 119 million bushels. The top destination for SRW was Mexico with 34.9% of the market share, or 42 million bushels. Ecuador was the second highest buyer at roughly 15 million bushels, or 12.9% of total SRW sales. Columbia was another consistent buyer of SRW wheat, amounting to 9.2% of the market share or 11 million bushels.
Courtesy of U.S. Wheat Associates
Developing Demand
U.S. Wheat Associates plays a critical role in developing a preference and desire for U.S. wheat around the globe. Throughout the 2025/2026 marketing year, USW led 315 programming events or activities, interacting with bakers, millers and government officials across 63 countries. These activities sustain relationships with longstanding customers and introduce new buyers to the reliability, consistency and safety of U.S. grown wheat.
The investment of producer dollars in USW unlocks additional funds through both the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development Program run by the USDA. Every producer dollar invested in market expansion is multiplied through these federal funds, allowing USW to work on behalf of farmers around the globe and around the clock.
To learn more about the 2025-2026 marketing year, visit the USW website.
