WASHINGTON — The US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) will temporarily pause publication of weekly export sales data, FAS Administrator Daniel Whitley announced on Aug. 31.

FAS is experiencing technical difficulties with the launch of the Export Sales Reporting and Maintenance System and will temporarily revert to the legacy system while the agency works through the issues.

"Since the system relies on data submissions by exporters, FAS is working closely with individual exporters to ensure that past, current and future export sales data are accurate,” Whitley said. “Our staff will continue to conduct outreach and provide support to both data reporters and data users in anticipation of the re-launch of the new system.”

The new system is designed with data security and availability in mind for data reporters and users, according to Whitley.

"Data integrity, credibility, and transparency are top priorities for FAS,” he added. “The timely and accurate reporting of agricultural export sales data is vital to effectively functioning markets.”

Whitley expects weekly export sales data reporting to resume on Sept. 15.