World Corn Trade

Major Players 

The United States continues to dominate the global corn market. In 2026, the United States is expected to maintain its place as the largest corn producer, exporter, and consumer (Table 1). The United States has a relatively sizeable lead in corn production and exports, but China narrowly follows in global consumption. United States exports are expected to increase almost 20% from the previous year.

Mexico is, once again, anticipated to be the largest importer of corn, closely followed by the European Union. Mexico’s livestock sector heavily relies on imported corn from the United States with trade agreements, like USMCA, facilitating market access and expansion.

To get a more detailed look at global corn trade, the remainer of this article utilizes data from UN Comtrade and therefore is not comparable to Table 1.

Relative Value of U.S. Corn Exports and Imports

Figure 1 plots the quantity of U.S. corn exports and imports; Figure 2 plots the value of U.S. corn exports and imports; Figure 3 plots the average price of U.S. corn exports and imports. Annualized data from the first five months of 2026 based on the percentage of annual totals in 2025 suggest that 2026 annual corn exports are an estimated 2.88 billion bushels valued at $18.8 billion, down from the 3.2 billion bushels in 2025 but up from the $18.6 billion value of corn exports in 2025. Based on this annualized data, the average price of corn exports is an estimated $5.93/bu., and the average price of corn imports is an estimated $7.30/bu.

From 2024 to 2025, U.S corn export volume increased 29%, and corn exports, by value, increased 32% - setting a record high. Typically, the average price of corn imports is greater than the average price of corn exports. In 2025, the average price of corn exports was $5.84/bushel, and the average price of corn imports was $7.39/bushel. The average price of both exports and imports increased in 2025. The average price of exports in 2025 was up 2% ($0.14/bushel) from 2024, but down nearly 28% ($2.29/bushel) from decade-high average prices marked in 2022.

Major Trading Partners for U.S. Corn 

Over the last five years, Mexico has remained the largest purchaser of U.S. corn by volume and value accounting for 32% of all U.S. corn exports. Japan and China follow closely behind accounted for 17% and 13% of total U.S. corn export quantity, respectively.

On a five-year average basis, corn exports to Mexico increased nearly 14% from the previous period of 2019-2024. Exports to Japan and Colombia also saw an increase from the previous five-year time period (2019-2024). On the other hand, corn exports to China on a five-year average basis, saw a 9% decline after turning to alternative, price competitive suppliers like Brazil.

While the United States imports very little corn, Canada is the largest supplier of corn purchased by the United States, accounting for almost half of imported volume.

Markets for Other Major Corn Exporters 

Brazil, as the second largest global corn exporter, exports a relatively even split across Iran, Egypt, and China – its top three export destinations. On average over the last five years, Brazil’s top five export destinations account for just roughly half (51%) of their corn exports.

Ukraine, using a five-year average from 2020 to 2024 due to data availability, exports over 26 million MT of corn annually, with China being their largest purchaser. Spain, Egypt, the Netherlands, and Italy follow as their top export destinations. Argentina's top corn export destinations are Vietnam, Peru, and South Korea.

Markets of Other Major Importers

Table 4 outlines the trade relationships of the four largest corn importers. Notably, among the other major importing countries, the United States is the top supplier. Brazil trails the United States as the second largest supplier in each instance.

China is the largest global importer of corn with the majority of imports, by volume, being supplied by the United States (38%) and Brazil (36%). Despite China’s position as the second largest corn producer, domestic consumption often exceeds supply. As China continues to diversify suppliers, the mix of major corn importers becomes less U.S.-dominant relative to previous years.

Mexico imports the overwhelming majority of its imported corn from the United States (98%) and a substantially smaller volume from Brazil (2%). A similar scenario is seen in Colombia where the United States accounts for, on a five-year average basis, 77% of Colombia’s corn imports. In Japan, the United States supplies, on a five-year average basis, 71% of imported corn.