The overall value of corn imports expanded by an average 82.9% from all importing countries since 2018 when corn purchases were valued at $37.6 billion.
Year over year, international purchases of corn rose by a 16.3% uptick compared to $59.2 billion during 2021.
The 5 biggest importers of corn in 2022 were mainland China, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and Spain. That cohort of major corn buyers paid almost four-fifths (38.3%) of total international spending on corn imported in 2022.
From a continental perspective, buyers in Asian countries spent the most on imported corn during 2022 with purchases costing $31.5 billion or 45.8% of the global total. In second place were European importers at 23.7% while 11.9% of globally imported corn was delivered to Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean. Another 10.5% was sent to importers in North America.
Smaller percentages were sold to customers in Africa (8.1%) and Oceania (0.1%) led by Pitcairn and New Zealand.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for corn is 1005.
Corn Imports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that spent the most on imported corn during 2022.
- China: US$7.1 billion (10.3% of total imported corn)
- Japan: $5.9 billion (8.5%)
- Mexico: $5.4 billion (7.9%)
- South Korea: $4.3 billion (6.2%)
- Spain: $3.7 billion (5.3%)
- Vietnam: $2.56 billion (3.7%)
- Egypt: $2.5 billion (3.6%)
- Italy: $2.31 billion (3.3%)
- Iran: $2.29 billion (3.3%)
- Colombia: $2.16 billion (3.1%)
- Taiwan: $1.74 billion (2.5%)
- Netherlands: $1.71 billion (2.5%)
- Canada: $1.5 billion (2.1%)
- Germany: $1.31 billion (1.9%)
- Saudi Arabia: $1.3 billion (1.9%)
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased about two-thirds (66.3%) of all corn imported in 2022.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing markets for corn since 2021 were: Canada (up 77.3%), Spain (up 67.1%), Saudi Arabia (up 62.2%) and Italy (up 60.6%).
There were three major countries that posted declines in their purchases of imported corn, namely: Iran (down -32.7% from 2021), mainland China (down -11.5%) and Vietnam (down -10.4%).
Corn Imports into China
Mainland China’s global purchases of imported corn totaled US$7.1 billion in 2022. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the People’s Republic imported the highest dollar value worth of corn during 2022. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2021 to 2022.
- United States: US$5.3 billion (down -5.4% from 2021)
- Ukraine: $1.6 billion (down -29.8%)
- Myanmar: $65.6 million (up 489%)
- Bulgaria: $50.1 million (up 12%)
- Russia: $29.7 million (up 39.6%)
- Laos: $17.9 million (up 159.1%)
- France: $2.6 million (up 34.9%)
- Germany: $1.2 million (up 66.1%)
- Argentina: $821,000 (up 72.8%)
- Kazakhstan: $798,000 (2021 data unavailable)
- Chile: $467,000 (up 155.2%)
- Peru: $464,000 (up 35.7%)
- South Africa: $408,000 (down -61.5%)
- India: $40,000 (up 1,900%)
- Japan: $9,000 (2021 data unavailable)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.9999% of corn imported by mainland China in 2022.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of corn to China since 2021 were: India (up 1,900%), Myanmar (up 489%), Laos (up 159.1%) and Chile (up 155.2%).
A trio of major providers experienced declines in the value of their corn supplied to Chinese importers, namely: South Africa (down -61.5% from 2021), Ukraine (down -29.8%) and the United States of America (down -5.4%).
Overall, the value of China’s imported corn declined by an average -11.5% from all supplying countries since 2021 when corn purchased cost $8 billion.
Corn Imports into Japan
Japan’s global purchases of imported corn totaled US$5.85 billion in 2022. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Japan imported the highest dollar value worth of corn during 2022. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2021 to 2022.
- United States: US$3.8 billion (up 9.4% from 2021)
- Brazil: $1.3 billion (up 98.3%)
- Argentina: $406.1 million (up 7%)
- South Africa: $290.8 million (up 31.5%)
- Ukraine: $32 million (up 11080.4%)
- France: $9.8 million (up 22.6%)
- India: $2.6 million (up 26.2%)
- Peru: $2.5 million (up 28.3%)
- Germany: $943,000 (up 65.4%)
- Chile: $863,000 (down -47.1%)
- Australia: $767,000 (up 89.9%)
- Russia: $740,000 (down -72.1%)
- New Zealand: $262,000 (down -68.6%)
- Thailand: $225,000 (down -3.4%)
- Canada: $133,000 (down -53.3%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.99% of corn imported by Japan in 2022.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of corn to Japan since 2021 were: Ukraine (up 11,080%), Brazil (up 98.3%), Australia (up 89.9%) and Germany (up 65.4%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their corn supplied to Japanese importers included: Russia (down -72.1% from 2021), New Zealand (down -68.6%), Canada (down -53.3%) and Chile (down -47.1%).
Overall, the value of Japan’s imported corn inflated by an average 23.5% from all supplying countries since 2021 when corn purchased cost $4.7 billion.
Corn Imports into Mexico
Mexico’s global purchases of imported corn totaled US$5.44 billion in 2022. Below are the top suppliers from which Mexico imported the highest dollar value worth of corn during 2022. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying from country from 2021 to 2022.
- United States: US$5.2 billion (up 4.9% from 2021)
- Brazil: $175.8 million (up 42.2%)
- South Africa: $15.6 million (2021 data unavailable)
- Chile: $4.3 million (up 45.1%)
- France: $183,000 (up 67.9%)
- Hungary: $2,000 (up 100%)
By value, the listed countries shipped 100% of corn imported by Mexico in 2022.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of corn to Mexico since 2021 were: Hungary (up 100%), France (up 67.9%), Chile (up 45.1%) and Brazil (up 42.2%).
Overall, the value of Mexico’s imported corn grew by an average 6.1% from all supplying countries since 2021 when corn purchased cost $5.1 billion.
Corn Imports into South Korea
South Korea’s global purchases of imported corn totaled US$4.27 billion in 2022. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which South Korea imported the highest dollar value worth of corn during 2022. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2021 to 2022.
- Argentina: US$1.9 billion (up 48.1% from 2021)
- Brazil: $696.5 million (up 66.2%)
- United States: $586.9 million (down -30.3%)
- Ukraine: $505.1 million (up 754.8%)
- Romania: $141.6 million (up 1005%)
- Serbia: $104.4 million (down -24.1%)
- South Africa: $85 million (down -18.5%)
- Russia: $83.1 million (down -45.5%)
- Paraguay: $65.6 million (up 68%)
- Bulgaria: $48.2 million (down -58.9%)
- Australia: $28.3 million (up 5.9%)
- Pakistan: $18.7 million (up 5,154%)
- Hungary: $4.9 million (down -81%)
- Moldova: $3.9 million (2021 data unavailable)
- New Zealand: $2.4 million (up 68%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.99% of corn imported by South Korea in 2022.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of corn to South Korea since 2021 were: Pakistan (up 5,154%), Romania (up 1,005%), Ukraine (up 754.8%) and Paraguay (up 68%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their corn supplied to South Korean importers included: Hungary (down -81% from 2021), Bulgaria (down -58.9%), Russia (down -45.5%) and the United States of America (down -30.3%).
Overall, the value of South Korea’s imported corn accelerated by an average 32.6% from all supplying countries since 2021 when corn purchased cost $3.2 billion.
Searchable List of Corn Importing Countries in 2022
The 100 key importers in the automated database below represent 99.2% of global spending on imported corn during 2022.
| Rank | Importer | Corn Imports | 2021-2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | China | $7,103,726,000 | -11.5% |
| 2. | Japan | $5,854,592,000 | +23.5% |
| 3. | Mexico | $5,436,828,000 | +6.1% |
| 4. | South Korea | $4,273,925,000 | +32.6% |
| 5. | Spain | $3,675,718,000 | +67.1% |
| 6. | Vietnam | $2,557,439,000 | -10.4% |
| 7. | Egypt | $2,500,913,000 | +3.7% |
| 8. | Italy | $2,305,631,000 | +60.6% |
| 9. | Iran | $2,286,130,000 | -32.7% |
| 10. | Colombia | $2,164,919,000 | +21.9% |
| 11. | Taiwan | $1,743,986,000 | +31.7% |
| 12. | Netherlands | $1,707,024,000 | +11.6% |
| 13. | Canada | $1,455,037,000 | +77.3% |
| 14. | Germany | $1,307,389,000 | +31.1% |
| 15. | Saudi Arabia | $1,297,673,000 | +62.2% |
| 16. | Peru | $1,292,662,000 | +16.9% |
| 17. | Malaysia | $1,260,996,000 | +12.1% |
| 18. | Türkiye | $1,166,302,000 | +71.4% |
| 19. | Chile | $939,281,000 | +21.8% |
| 20. | Algeria | $927,853,000 | +12.6% |
| 21. | United Kingdom | $849,512,000 | +26.3% |
| 22. | Morocco | $765,053,000 | +13.2% |
| 23. | Portugal | $757,690,000 | +48.7% |
| 24. | Bangladesh | $713,936,000 | +48.5% |
| 25. | Poland | $669,173,000 | +262.2% |
| 26. | Belgium | $642,000,000 | +14.3% |
| 27. | Hungary | $617,901,000 | +173.5% |
| 28. | Brazil | $612,608,000 | -16.5% |
| 29. | Guatemala | $571,164,000 | +33.8% |
| 30. | Ireland | $531,027,000 | +59.8% |
| 31. | Romania | $527,235,000 | +45.9% |
| 32. | Dominican Republic | $481,739,000 | +12.4% |
| 33. | Israel | $476,554,000 | +33.4% |
| 34. | Thailand | $446,929,000 | +9.2% |
| 35. | Austria | $446,678,000 | +42.5% |
| 36. | France | $420,378,000 | +26.1% |
| 37. | Indonesia | $394,458,000 | +32.7% |
| 38. | United States | $353,280,000 | +2.8% |
| 39. | Philippines | $353,085,000 | +99.2% |
| 40. | Honduras | $329,300,000 | +47.3% |
| 41. | Costa Rica | $292,861,000 | -7% |
| 42. | Venezuela | $292,140,000 | +40.6% |
| 43. | El Salvador | $287,105,000 | +54.2% |
| 44. | Greece | $226,293,000 | +2% |
| 45. | Jordan | $217,827,000 | -7.7% |
| 46. | Kenya | $207,764,000 | +67.9% |
| 47. | Tunisia | $205,613,000 | -27.4% |
| 48. | Panama | $202,526,000 | +13.4% |
| 49. | Slovakia | $198,831,000 | +187.7% |
| 50. | Iraq | $191,806,000 | -37.2% |
| 51. | Nicaragua | $189,266,000 | +22.8% |
| 52. | Yemen | $171,228,000 | +1.9% |
| 53. | Libya | $164,334,000 | +2.1% |
| 54. | Russia | $158,017,000 | +42.5% |
| 55. | Lebanon | $148,553,000 | +8% |
| 56. | Senegal | $148,324,000 | +129.3% |
| 57. | Nepal | $134,235,000 | -15% |
| 58. | United Arab Emirates | $134,197,000 | -35.1% |
| 59. | Cyprus | $117,300,000 | +53.9% |
| 60. | Ecuador | $116,361,000 | +98.7% |
| 61. | Denmark | $109,178,000 | +62.7% |
| 62. | Switzerland | $103,662,000 | +60.6% |
| 63. | Jamaica | $97,876,000 | +10.1% |
| 64. | Paraguay | $94,364,000 | +18.9% |
| 65. | Czech Republic | $92,767,000 | +13.7% |
| 66. | Bulgaria | $92,618,000 | +27.1% |
| 67. | Pakistan | $88,786,000 | +21.6% |
| 68. | Lithuania | $83,221,000 | +107.2% |
| 69. | Ukraine | $74,236,000 | -17.3% |
| 70. | Croatia | $74,017,000 | +72.5% |
| 71. | Angola | $69,589,000 | +48.2% |
| 72. | Slovenia | $69,227,000 | +3% |
| 73. | Uruguay | $69,127,000 | +46.1% |
| 74. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $68,211,000 | +56.2% |
| 75. | Sri Lanka | $67,842,000 | +625% |
| 76. | Botswana | $65,507,000 | +1.6% |
| 77. | Latvia | $56,842,000 | +127.6% |
| 78. | Cambodia | $51,977,000 | -35.3% |
| 79. | Oman | $50,311,000 | -62.2% |
| 80. | Namibia | $47,290,000 | +12% |
| 81. | Serbia | $45,782,000 | +123.4% |
| 82. | Moldova | $45,400,000 | +143.6% |
| 83. | Belarus | $45,082,000 | -22.5% |
| 84. | Mauritius | $44,605,000 | +63.3% |
| 85. | Myanmar | $43,372,000 | +8.2% |
| 86. | Eswatini | $43,229,000 | +4.2% |
| 87. | Equatorial Guinea | $41,599,000 | +83098% |
| 88. | Norway | $38,737,000 | +46.3% |
| 89. | Mozambique | $38,274,000 | -17.8% |
| 90. | Argentina | $38,213,000 | +51.3% |
| 91. | Rwanda | $36,720,000 | +100.1% |
| 92. | Trinidad/Tobago | $36,585,000 | +31.4% |
| 93. | Kuwait | $36,068,000 | -31.9% |
| 94. | Tanzania | $31,001,000 | +77.4% |
| 95. | Zimbabwe | $30,702,000 | -73.2% |
| 96. | Pitcairn | $30,658,000 | 0% |
| 97. | Syria | $29,969,000 | -21% |
| 98. | Uzbekistan | $29,494,000 | +23.9% |
| 99. | Qatar | $28,567,000 | +25.7% |
| 100. | Sweden | $27,848,000 | +49.4% |
The strongest increases in spending from 2021 to 2022 belong to corn importers in Equatorial Guinea (up 83,098%), Sri Lanka (up 625%), Poland (up 262.2%), Slovakia (up 187.7%) and Hungary (up 173.5%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the above table columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that no 2021 data was available.
See also Corn Exports by Country, China’s Top Trading Partners, Mexico’s Top Trading Partners, Japan’s Top Trading Partners and South Korea’s Top Trading Partners
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Imports – Commodities. Accessed on August 9, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 9, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 9, 2023
Wikipedia, Maize. Accessed on August 9, 2023
