A preliminary look at U.S. sorghum export data for 2011/2012 shows a “good news, bad news” pattern, but sales totals as of Aug. 25 were higher than the previous year, and outstanding sales numbers suggest that pattern would hold in the final tallies, reported the U.S. Grains Council.

On the “bad news” side, U.S. exports to Japan appear headed for a drop of 60 percent or more, and shipments to Canada are down about 14 percent.

The “good news” – sorghum exports to Israel shot from a few thousand metric tons to more than 125,000 tons (4.9 million bushels), and European purchases rocketed from zero to more than 795,000 tons (31.3 million bushels). EU buyers included Italy, Netherlands, France and Spain.