M. Shahbandeh
Research expert covering agriculture & FMCG
Corn industry worldwide - statistics & facts
With a production volume of around 1.2 billion metric tons, corn took the global lead among the most important grains produced all over the world. The United States alone is responsible for almost one third of global corn production, with approximately 80 million acres of land devoted for corn harvesting in 2022. The U.S. and China together account for more than half of worldwide corn production. Corn production in China exceeded 277 million metric tons in 2022.
International trade
As the global leader in corn production, the United States was also the leading exporter of corn worldwide in 2022/23, with an export volume of about 42 million metric tons. In that year, the two main recipients of U.S. corn exports were China and Mexico. The export value of U.S. corn amounted to over 19 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. On the import side, China had the highest volume of corn imports that year.Global corn consumption
Global consumption of corn amounted to over 45 billion bushels in 2022/23, of which 12.4 million were consumed in the United States alone. A significant share of the corn grown in the United States is processed into ethanol to be utilized as animal feed or to manufacture high fructose corn syrup. In Latin America and the Caribbean, corn consumption was highest in Brazil. In the European Union, the consumption volume of corn was estimated to reach nearly 75.6 million metric tons by 2030.
