USDA Agricultural Export Sales Reporting — Weekly and Daily Reporting Requirements for Grain Exporters
Legal Authority
- 7 U.S.C. § 5712 (Agricultural Trade Act of 1978) — Requires exporters to report export sales of designated agricultural commodities to USDA; authorizes USDA to prescribe reporting requirements and penalties for noncompliance
- 7 CFR Part 20 — USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) implementing regulations; specifies which commodities require reporting, reporting thresholds, daily versus weekly reporting triggers, and civil penalties for late or inaccurate reports
Key Mechanics
7 CFR Part 20 requires U.S. exporters of designated agricultural commodities — including wheat, corn, soybeans, sorghum, barley, oats, flaxseed, cotton, and rice — to report export sales to USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) on a weekly basis, with large single-day sales triggering same-day or next-business-day reporting. The weekly Export Sales Reporting (ESR) system requires exporters to report all outstanding sales (contracted but not yet shipped), new sales made during the reporting week, and actual export shipments by country of destination. Large sale reporting is triggered when a single sale exceeds specified tonnage thresholds (e.g., 100,000 metric tons for wheat and corn, 50,000 metric tons for soybeans) — these must be reported to USDA by midnight on the day the sale is made or by the next business day. FAS publishes weekly ESR data that are closely watched by commodity markets and foreign governments as leading indicators of U.S. agricultural export demand. Violations — late, inaccurate, or omitted reports — are subject to civil penalties up to $25,000 per violation. The system is the primary U.S. tool for monitoring whether export commitments are consistent with domestic supply availability.
Current Rule (2026)
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Citation | 7 CFR Part 20 |
| Issuing agency | USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) |
| Statutory authority | 7 U.S.C. § 5712 (Agricultural Trade Act of 1978) |
| Last major amendment | No recent Federal Register amendments |
What This Rule Does
When a U.S. company sells agricultural commodities for export, the government needs to know. Large export sales — particularly of grains, oilseeds, and other bulk commodities — can affect domestic market prices, trigger mandatory government notifications, and inform agricultural trade policy. Seven CFR Part 20 implements the mandatory export sales reporting program under the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978, requiring U.S. exporters to report both weekly totals and large individual sales on a daily basis.
The program serves two purposes: transparency for domestic market participants (farmers, processors, traders who need to know how much grain is heading overseas) and trade policy intelligence for USDA and the administration. When China, Egypt, or another major buyer contracts for large quantities of U.S. wheat or soybeans, FAS needs that information quickly. Part 20 is how they get it.
The Foreign Agricultural Service's Export Sales Reporting Division collects the data, which becomes the basis for the weekly Export Sales Report — a public document widely used by agricultural traders, economists, and the press to track the pace of U.S. commodity exports.
Key Provisions
- § 20.1 — Mandatory reporting: export sales of covered agricultural commodities must be reported to FAS under the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978; reporting is not voluntary — failure to report is a criminal offense
- § 20.2 — FAS administers the program; the FAS Administrator oversees implementation and may delegate authority within the agency
- § 20.3 — The FAS Administrator has authority to publish changes and updates to the rules
- § 20.4 — Definitions: "reporting exporter" means a person who exports or contracts to export covered commodities; "export sale" means a sale contract where the commodity will leave the United States; specific quantity thresholds trigger the large-sale daily reporting requirement (distinct from weekly aggregate reporting)
- § 20.5 — The covered commodities list (Appendix A) specifies which agricultural products must be reported; changes to the list are published in the Federal Register and announced through trade channels; the list typically includes wheat, corn, soybeans, soybean meal, soybean oil, grain sorghum, barley, oats, and cotton
- § 20.6 — Weekly reporting: exporters must submit weekly reports on covered commodities using FAS forms (FAS-97, FAS-98, and FAS-100); reports cover all export sales activity during the reporting week; reports are filed with the FAS Export Sales Reporting Division
- § 20.7 — Confidentiality: individual company export sale reports are confidential; FAS may share individual data only with designated personnel; aggregated, market-level data is published publicly in the weekly Export Sales Report; no single exporter's identity or sales volume is disclosed
- § 20.8 — Criminal penalties: intentional failure to report required export sales is a federal crime; exporters who knowingly omit required reports can be fined; the penalty provision reflects the market-sensitive nature of the information and the need for complete, accurate reporting
- § 20.9 — Records: reporting exporters must maintain accurate records of all export sales of covered commodities, including at minimum the commodity, quantity, destination country, price, and contract date; records must be available for FAS inspection
- § 20.10 — Where to submit: weekly reports and related information are submitted to the FAS Export Sales Reporting Division; FAS provides current contact information and submission procedures
- § 20.11 — Large-sale daily reporting: in addition to weekly reports, exporters must telephone FAS on the day a large individual sale contract is signed; the daily call must be made by telephone by a specified time on the day of the sale; "large" is defined by quantity thresholds that vary by commodity (e.g., a single sale of 100,000 metric tons or more of wheat triggers the daily call requirement)
How It Affects You
If you are a U.S. agricultural exporter of covered commodities, you have two reporting obligations that run on different timelines:
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Daily phone reporting for any single sale contract that meets the commodity-specific quantity threshold. Large-volume contracts must be called in to FAS on the day of signing — not the next day, not the next week. Keep FAS's export reporting phone number available in your trading operations.
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Weekly aggregate reporting using FAS forms for all export sales activity during the week. Weekly reports are filed with the Export Sales Reporting Division on a schedule FAS establishes.
The confidentiality protection is real but limited. Your company-level data is protected — FAS will not publish your individual sales. But the aggregated data becomes public through the weekly Export Sales Report, which the market uses to track export commitments. If you are a major exporter, your activity is effectively visible in aggregate even if your name is not.
Criminal penalties apply to intentional non-reporting. The program depends on complete, accurate data from all exporters. FAS takes underreporting seriously, and the criminal penalty provision (fines) reflects that. If you are unsure whether a transaction is reportable, contact FAS — they prefer clarifying questions over after-the-fact enforcement.
Recordkeeping is ongoing. FAS may inspect records to verify the accuracy of reported sales. Maintain export sale records — commodity, quantity, destination, price, date — for each covered transaction.
Statutory Authority
This rule implements:
- 7 U.S.C. § 5712 — Section 602 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 (as amended); requires the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a system for reporting export sales of U.S. agricultural commodities; authorizes the weekly report and large-sale reporting requirements
Recent Rulemakings
No major Federal Register amendments reported. The list of covered commodities (Appendix A) is updated periodically, but the reporting framework has been stable for decades.