Shucks
The US — once the corn capital of the world, accounting for nearly 70% of global exports of the golden crop — could be about to spend its second consecutive year as runner-up. Brazil is once again set to topple the US as the world's largest corn exporter, according to forecasts from the USDA.
Bloomberg reported that the 2023 harvest year was the only period since records began where the US did not hold the top spot, save for a nationwide drought in 2013, with the trend set to continue into the 2024 season that started on Friday.
Popping off
Brazil, meanwhile, has been breaking corn exporting records this year, thanks to logistical breakthroughs, a bountiful harvest, and more money being pumped into unclogging shipment routes in the north of the South American nation. The Brazilian supply has been instrumental in filling in market gaps left by the war in Ukraine and tensions between China and the US, with the country’s share of global exports soaring in recent years.
In 2003, Brazil was responsible for 6% of world corn exports, with the country's industry being massively out-husked by the US. But, things have shifted rapidly in the intervening years, with the South American nation capturing 32% of the global export share in the 2023 season.
