Colorado Corn Cultivating Opportunities

Distillers grains exports in 2007 set a new record and were nearly double export levels in 2006, according to data released this week by the Foreign Agriculture Service, Department of Commerce and U.S. Census Bureau. The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) hailed this as important news for those interested in corn ethanol’s important coproduct.

“The export market for distillers grains continues to grow tremendously,” said Bill Hoffman, Chairman of NCGA’s Joint Trade Policy A-Team, which partners on trade issues with the U.S. Grains Council. “The strong demand for ethanol coproducts in foreign markets in 2007 demonstrates the significant nutritional and economic value of these products for livestock.”

The United States exported 2.36 million metric tons of distillers grains in 2007, up 88 percent from the 1.25 million metric tons exported in 2006. Export totals in 2007 were nearly triple 2004 levels.

For the second year in a row, Mexico registered as the top customer of U.S. distillers grains exports. More than 700,000 metric tons of distillers grains, about 30 percent of total exports, went to Mexico last year. Canada was the second-leading market for U.S. distillers grains exports in 2007 (317,580 metric tons), followed by Turkey (136,519 metric tons), Taiwan (134,404 metric tons) and Korea (102,259 metric tons). Exports to Mexico in 2007 were up 93 percent from 2006.

Shipments to Central and Southeast Asia surged in 2007. Notably, Turkey had imported just 632 metric tons of distillers grains prior to receiving 136,519 metric tons in 2007. Significant gains were also seen in Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Israel, and Indonesia. Cuba, Chile, Morocco, the Netherlands and Spain also imported considerably more distillers grains in 2007 than in 2006.

According to NCGA estimates, approximately 14 percent of U.S.-produced distillers grains were exported in 2007.

“Distillers grains exports were generally flat between the mid-1990s and 2004, but we’ve seen major upticks in demand in each of the last three years,” Hoffman said. “We believe growth in international demand is a direct result of the market development efforts of the corn and ethanol industries and the U.S. Grains Council.”