Also known as maize, the value of globally exported corn increased by an average 84.7% for all exporting countries since 2018 when corn shipments were valued at $33.8 billion.
From 2021 to 2022, the dollar amount paid for globally exported corn accelerated by 21.1% starting from $51.6 billion.
The 5 biggest corn exporters (United States of America, Brazil, Argentina, Ukraine and France) generated over three-quarters (77.3%) of overall sales for the popular grain commodity in 2022.
Among continents, countries in Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean sold the highest dollar worth of exported corn during 2022 with shipments valued at $22.1 billion or 35.3% of the world total. In second place were suppliers in North America at 31.7% while 26.5% worth of the tasty grain originated from shippers in Europe.
Smaller percentages came from Asia (4.1%), Africa (2.3%) and Oceania (0.1%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for corn is 1005.
Corn Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of corn during 2022.
- United States: US$19 billion (30.5% of total corn exports)
- Brazil: $12.3 billion (19.6%)
- Argentina: $8.6 billion (13.8%)
- Ukraine: $6 billion (9.6%)
- France: $2.4 billion (3.8%)
- Romania: $2 billion (3.2%)
- Poland: $1.3 billion (2.1%)
- South Africa: $1.2 billion (1.9%)
- India: $1.12 billion (1.8%)
- Paraguay: $1.09 billion (1.7%)
- Hungary: $917.4 million (1.5%)
- Russia: $705.2 million (1.1%)
- Canada: $700.4 million (1.1%)
- Myanmar: $658.4 million (1.1%)
- Serbia: $420.9 million (0.7%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 93.5% of globally exported corn in 2022.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing corn suppliers from 2021 to 2022 were: Paraguay (up 1,343%), Brazil (up 192.8%), Poland (up 105.1%) and South Africa (up 49.8%).
A trio of top suppliers posted declines in their exported corn sales namely: Serbia (down -30.6% from 2021), Hungary (down -11.7%) and Argentina (down -5.1%).
Countries Generating Highest Surpluses from Trading Corn
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for corn during 2022. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s corn exports and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- United States: US$18.7 billion (net export surplus up 0.01% since 2021)
- Brazil: $11.7 billion (up 237.2%)
- Argentina: $8.6 billion (down -5.2%)
- Ukraine: $5.9 billion (up 2%)
- France: $2 billion (up 21.7%)
- Romania: $1.5 billion (down -6.8%)
- South Africa: $1.2 billion (up 52.4%)
- India: $1.1 billion (up 20.1%)
- Paraguay: $994.3 million (reversing a -$3.9 million deficit)
- Poland: $630.6 million (up 40.4%)
- Myanmar: $615 million (up 6.8%)
- Russia: $547.2 million (down -6.2%)
- Serbia: $375.2 million (down -36%)
- Hungary: $299.5 million (down -63.2%)
- Moldova: $294.4 million (up 171.2%)
The United States of America earned the highest surplus in the international trade of fresh corn. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms America’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Countries Incurring Greatest Deficits from Trading Corn
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for corn during 2022. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s corn import purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- mainland China: -US$7.1 billion (net export deficit down -11.4% since 2021)
- Japan: -$5.9 billion (up 23.5%)
- Mexico: -$5.4 billion (up 6.5%)
- South Korea: -$4.3 billion (up 32.5%)
- Spain: -$3.6 billion (up 68.6%)
- Vietnam: -$2.52 billion (down -9.1%)
- Egypt: -$2.5 billion (up 3.8%)
- Iran: -$2.29 billion (down -32.7%)
- Italy: -$2.22 billion (up 64.3%)
- Colombia: -$2.16 billion (up 22.2%)
- Taiwan: -$1.7 billion (up 31.7%)
- Netherlands: -$1.6 billion (up 11.1%)
- Saudi Arabia: -$1.3 billion (up 62.2%)
- Peru: -$1.27 billion (up 17.6%)
- Malaysia: -$1.26 billion (up 12.1%)
Mainland China incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of fresh corn. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights Japan’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for corn-supplying countries that help satisfy powerful consumer demand.
Major Corn Exporting Companies
Below are corn-processing conglomerates that represent large players in the global corn market. Shown within parenthesis is the country where the company is headquartered.
- Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (United States)
- Bunge Limited (United States)
- Cargill, Inc (United States)
- Ingredion Incorporated (United States)
- Louis Dreyfus Holding B.V. (Netherlands)
- Mriya Agro Holding (Ukraine)
- SLC Agrícola (Brazil)
- Syngenta AG (Switzerland)
- Tate & Lyle Public Limited Company (United Kingdom)
- Vanguarda Agro (Brazil)
Searchable List of Corn Exporting Countries in 2022
The following 100 countries were responsible for 99.998% of total corn exports by value in 2022.
| Rank | Exporter | Corn Exports | 2021-2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | United States | $19,031,647,000 | +0.1% |
| 2. | Brazil | $12,264,070,000 | +192.8% |
| 3. | Argentina | $8,605,879,000 | -5.1% |
| 4. | Ukraine | $5,992,448,000 | +1.7% |
| 5. | France | $2,372,197,000 | +22.4% |
| 6. | Romania | $1,994,736,000 | +3% |
| 7. | Poland | $1,299,731,000 | +105.1% |
| 8. | South Africa | $1,212,170,000 | +49.8% |
| 9. | India | $1,118,312,000 | +19.5% |
| 10. | Paraguay | $1,088,661,000 | +1343% |
| 11. | Hungary | $917,355,000 | -11.7% |
| 12. | Russia | $705,210,000 | +1.6% |
| 13. | Canada | $700,370,000 | +42.4% |
| 14. | Myanmar | $658,382,000 | +6.9% |
| 15. | Serbia | $420,939,000 | -30.6% |
| 16. | Slovakia | $363,070,000 | +95.4% |
| 17. | Austria | $355,312,000 | +26.2% |
| 18. | Moldova | $339,823,000 | +167.1% |
| 19. | Bulgaria | $328,965,000 | -30.2% |
| 20. | Croatia | $318,006,000 | +28.3% |
| 21. | Germany | $273,198,000 | -4.6% |
| 22. | Pakistan | $264,017,000 | +147.1% |
| 23. | Türkiye | $257,396,000 | +79.3% |
| 24. | Netherlands | $135,566,000 | +17.2% |
| 25. | Czech Republic | $130,485,000 | +17.5% |
| 26. | Spain | $114,699,000 | +31.6% |
| 27. | Zambia | $109,738,000 | +134.3% |
| 28. | Thailand | $101,129,000 | -8.6% |
| 29. | Tanzania | $88,949,000 | -2.8% |
| 30. | Italy | $88,061,000 | +2% |
| 31. | Portugal | $77,522,000 | +192.6% |
| 32. | Slovenia | $65,585,000 | -18.3% |
| 33. | Chile | $65,102,000 | -21.5% |
| 34. | Lithuania | $60,328,000 | +134.1% |
| 35. | Belgium | $50,146,000 | -28.8% |
| 36. | Indonesia | $49,947,000 | +1079% |
| 37. | Mexico | $46,977,000 | -22.9% |
| 38. | Australia | $39,587,000 | +27.9% |
| 39. | Vietnam | $38,582,000 | -53.3% |
| 40. | Ireland | $35,131,000 | -5.5% |
| 41. | United Kingdom | $30,799,000 | -9.5% |
| 42. | Latvia | $29,426,000 | +194.1% |
| 43. | Kazakhstan | $23,793,000 | +6.7% |
| 44. | Laos | $21,189,000 | +15% |
| 45. | Peru | $19,264,000 | -15.3% |
| 46. | Jordan | $14,572,000 | -20% |
| 47. | Guatemala | $11,429,000 | +225.1% |
| 48. | Malawi | $11,096,000 | +23.1% |
| 49. | Greece | $9,573,000 | +67.4% |
| 50. | Philippines | $8,898,000 | +191.4% |
| 51. | Ivory Coast | $8,554,000 | +187.4% |
| 52. | Denmark | $8,492,000 | +40.8% |
| 53. | Uganda | $7,637,000 | -70.7% |
| 54. | Mozambique | $7,106,000 | +471.2% |
| 55. | Honduras | $6,507,000 | +84.2% |
| 56. | Kyrgyzstan | $6,152,000 | +462.3% |
| 57. | Bolivia | $5,575,000 | -67.5% |
| 58. | North Macedonia | $5,348,000 | +16.6% |
| 59. | Malaysia | $4,917,000 | +32.2% |
| 60. | Luxembourg | $4,815,000 | -20.8% |
| 61. | Uruguay | $4,809,000 | +20809% |
| 62. | Kenya | $4,776,000 | -39.6% |
| 63. | Zimbabwe | $4,771,000 | +62.6% |
| 64. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $4,154,000 | +55.1% |
| 65. | China | $3,821,000 | -46.9% |
| 66. | Nicaragua | $3,294,000 | +23429% |
| 67. | New Zealand | $1,970,000 | -56.9% |
| 68. | Colombia | $1,503,000 | -68.5% |
| 69. | Egypt | $1,251,000 | -36.2% |
| 70. | United Arab Emirates | $1,127,000 | -94.7% |
| 71. | South Korea | $1,097,000 | +1382% |
| 72. | Switzerland | $1,092,000 | +186.6% |
| 73. | Georgia | $969,000 | +0.2% |
| 74. | Saint Helena | $954,000 | 0% |
| 75. | Benin | $928,000 | +494.9% |
| 76. | Costa Rica | $926,000 | +1072% |
| 77. | Belize | $925,000 | -38.5% |
| 78. | Sweden | $833,000 | +42.2% |
| 79. | Botswana | $788,000 | -4.3% |
| 80. | Dominican Republic | $608,000 | +25.6% |
| 81. | Rwanda | $603,000 | +800% |
| 82. | Cambodia | $511,000 | +12.1% |
| 83. | Oman | $466,000 | -98.2% |
| 84. | Mali | $396,000 | -69.8% |
| 85. | Namibia | $390,000 | -5.1% |
| 86. | Senegal | $277,000 | +225.9% |
| 87. | Belarus | $223,000 | -98% |
| 88. | Trinidad/Tobago | $207,000 | -52.2% |
| 89. | Estonia | $199,000 | -41.6% |
| 90. | Hong Kong | $195,000 | +2686% |
| 91. | Syria | $178,000 | -31.5% |
| 92. | Taiwan | $178,000 | +381.1% |
| 93. | Singapore | $165,000 | +32% |
| 94. | El Salvador | $108,000 | -96.9% |
| 95. | Bangladesh | $94,000 | +113.6% |
| 96. | Bahrain | $88,000 | +266.7% |
| 97. | Sudan | $82,000 | -94% |
| 98. | Morocco | $75,000 | +368.8% |
| 99. | Eswatini | $58,000 | -25.6% |
| 100. | Panama | $55,000 | +1275% |
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the above columns. Note that an entry of 0% in the right-most column means no 2021 data was available at time of article publication.
Expanding the scope to the top 100 corn exporters, the fastest-growing shippers of corn by value from 2021 to 2022 are Nicaragua (up 23,429%), Uruguay (up 20,809%), Hong Kong (up 2,686%), South Korea (up 1,382%), Paraguay (up 1,343%), Panama (up 1,275%), Indonesia (up 1,079%) and Costa Rica (up 1,072%).
Top 10 Exporters of Corn by Shipment Weight
The worldwide total of exported corn equaled 203.1 billion tons in 2022. That shipment weight reflects a 5.7% increase from 192.2 billion tons in 2021 and a 22.1% gain compared to 166.4 billion tons during 2018.
- United States: 58,595,503 tons (28.8% of global corn exports)
- Brazil: 43,389,352 tons (21.4%)
- Argentina: 33,010,473 tons (16.3%)
- Ukraine: 25,176,648 tons (12.4%)
- Romania: 5,539,732 tons (2.7%)
- France: 5,099,723 tons (2.5%)
- Paraguay: 4,598,416 tons (2.3%)
- Poland: 3,881,044 tons (1.9%)
- South Africa: 3,728,694 tons (1.8%)
- India: 3,486,501 tons (1.7%)
The greatest growth in terms of shipment weight from 2021 to 2022 were posted by exporters in Paraguay (up by 6,189%), Brazil (up 112.4%), Poland (up 69.8%), France (up 19.1%) and South Africa (up 12.1%).
Average Prices for Top Corn Exporters
Overall, the world’s average price for exported corn in 2022 was US$307.50 per ton. That dollar metric represents a 14.6% increase from the average $268.30 per ton one year earlier in 2021 and a 51.2% gain compared to $203.30 five years earlier for 2018.
Presented below are the average prices per ton for each of the world’s biggest corn exporters. This list is ordered by volume starting with countries shipping the greatest total tons.
- United States of America: US$325 per ton (up 19% from 2021)
- Brazil: $283 per ton (up 38%)
- Argentina: $261 per ton (up 15%)
- Ukraine: $238 per ton (down -0.4%)
- France: $465 per ton (up 2.9%)
- Romania: $360 per ton (up 30.9%)
- Poland: $335 per ton (up 20.9%)
- South Africa: $325 per ton (up 33.7%)
- India: $321 per ton (up 23.9%)
- Paraguay: $237 per ton (down -77%)
The most expensive average prices among the above major corn suppliers come from France and Romania costing well above the global average of $307.50.
The least costly sources were Paraguay and Ukraine.
The fastest-growing average prices originate from Brazil, South Africa and Romania.
Average prices declined for corn exported from Paraguay (down -77%) and Ukraine (down -0.4%).
See also Corn Imports by Country, Wheat Exports by Country, Soya Beans Exports by Country and Top Sweet Pepper and Chili Pepper Exports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on July 18, 2023
Genetic Literacy Project, World’s largest corn producer sues Syngenta over Chinese rejection of GMO corn. Accessed on July 18, 2023
Hoovers, Company information. Accessed on July 18, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 18, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 18, 2023
Wikipedia, Category: Agriculture companies by country. Accessed on July 18, 2023
Wikipedia, Maize. Accessed on July 18, 2023
