By Jamie Martin
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced plans to overhaul its export sales reporting process with a new system expected to be operational by late 2025. This initiative aims to address issues encountered during a previous attempt to update the system in August 2022, which resulted in significant delays and confusion among traders.
Known as the Export Sales Reporting and Query System (ESRQS), the upcoming platform will replace the current mechanism used to track weekly sales of U.S. agricultural commodities. These reports, essential for grain and livestock traders, are issued every Thursday by the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and play a critical role in the agricultural market.
The 2022 rollout of the initial version of ESRQS was fraught with challenges, leading to a three-week disruption in the reporting of export sales data. To avoid a recurrence, the USDA is committed to conducting extensive testing with exporters before officially launching the new system.
Patrick Packnett, a deputy administrator at the FAS, emphasized the importance of thorough testing and stakeholder engagement to ensure a smooth transition to the new system. This move is part of a broader effort by the USDA to enhance the reliability and efficiency of agricultural data reporting, which is vital for maintaining the transparency and stability of global agricultural markets.
Photo Credit: usda
Categories: National