Statistics and facts about corn in the U.S.
Corn is the world's most important
grain based on production volume. In the crop year 2011/2012, a production level of around 870 million metric tons was expected to be achieved, showing a constantly growing production level from the preceding years.
The United States is by far the largest
corn producer worldwide, with a production level of over 316 million metric tons in 2011. That means, the U.S. produced way more than one third of the global amount of corn. The leading U.S. states in corn cultivation are Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska.
The U.S. is also the world's leading exporter of corn, whereas the import volume in comparison is insignificant. Among the
top buyers of U.S. corn are Japan, Mexico and South Korea.
Over the last seven decades,
U.S. prices per one metric ton of corn fluctuated a great deal, but were rapidly increasing in the last years. A new culmination in high prices was summer 2012, attributable especially to the exceptional
drought in most of the major agricultural U.S. states.
Corn is increasingly utilized in the production of
industrial ethanol. In 2011, almost 40 percent of all corn was used for this purpose in the United States. Growing
corn production for ethanol in the U.S. is expected to continue at least up until 2016.
Photo: istockphoto.com / atoss