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U.S. corn going to many places, but not China

USDA says U.S. corn exports have continued at a blistering pace, yet China is not major buyer.

Bryan Doherty with Total Farm Marketing tells Brownfield U.S. corn is going to many different countries. “China hasn’t been a buyer, but Mexico, Vietnam, a lot of countries. The USDA will publish, and you can kind of go through the list, but there’s sort of, I’m going to say a generalized world reaction to cheap corn and you’re seeing a lot of countries stepping up and purchasing.”

Doherty says Thursday’s export numbers were dismal compared to the rest of the year, but overall, 2025 has seen solid corn export demand. “581-million bushels more this year than last at the same time, and that’s an increase of 26.9%, so really a good response to low prices.”

Brownfield asked Doherty if buyers around the world are potentially stockpiling now, would that create a marketing problem later after harvest? “Well, that’s always a concern, right, that when things are cheap that buyers buy ahead of uncertainty which is the growing season.”

Doherty says what the U.S. corn crop is up against right now is the expected record Safrinha crop in Brazil, which will likely keep downward pressure on prices.

AUDIO: Bryan Doherty discusses corn exports with Brownfield’s Larry Lee