In MY 2023/24, over ninety percent of U.S. sorghum exports were shipped to China. Total Chinese imports were 5.5 million metric tons of U.S. sorghum valued at $1.5 billion annually. In 2024, the Council, responding to trade uncertainty with China, began seeking alternative export markets for U.S. sorghum. Spain and Portugal, along with Mexico, have been key first movers on using U.S. sorghum in the past. Spain emerged as a reliable partner to absorb the surplus of U.S grain sorghum available on global markets. The Council has geared its Spanish programming toward both technical training on sorghum applications in animal feed, as well as awareness of the significant price and availability changes seen since China left the market.
In FY 2024, the Council conducted several in-country trade missions educating leading Spanish merchants and livestock producers on the unique applications of U.S. sorghum in animal feed relative to competing sorghum origins, as well as providing insight on U.S. market dynamics and sorghum availability. These efforts included circulation of our recent feeding trial examining sorghum use in Iberian pig feed, which demonstrated U.S. origin sorghum’s performance relative to competing energy sources. Circulation of this trial data also importantly highlighted the superior amino acid profile of U.S. sorghum, which led to carcass characteristics favorable to the Spanish consumer.
These efforts resulted in a significant increase in sales during the latter part of the current marketing year. Between August 2023 – May 2024, Spain purchased 76 MT of U.S. sorghum, equating to $17,332. Marketing year 2024/25 has seen a drastic increase with 90,000 MT valued at $31,320,000 in sales.