Sorghum Exports Soar

Estimates from the U.S. Grains Council suggest a tenfold increase in exports of sorghum this year compared to 2012. China leads demand for the grain.

In 2012, the Council, in cooperation with the U.S. Sorghum Checkoff Program, offered seminars to raise awareness in China about the value of U.S. sorghum, which is also known as milo. Since then, said Alvaro Cordero, Manager of Global Trade for the Council, “China’s demand for sorghum has grown to unprecedented levels.”

The country uses the grain for hog and chicken feed and in production of baijiu, which is a liquor. China imports an estimated 88% of what the United States exports, which this year equates to roughly 7.7 tons of 8.8 tons.

This burgeoning market naturally drives supply. Cordero said U.S. growers planted 7.9 million acres of sorghum this year, which is an 11% increase.

Sorghum represents the third-largest cereal grain in the U.S. It is, compared to other grains, drought tolerant, resistant to mycotoxins and fungi, and able to survive in relatively harsher climate conditions. It grows primarily from southern Nebraska to the southern tip of Texas. S