From WATTAgNet:
Sorghum is in high demand by China, and imports of U.S. sorghum to China increased 15-fold in the past year, pushing its price above corn in some parts of the U.S.
Sorghum is a drought-hardy crop also known as milo that is grown in the Great Plains. According to a report, some Kansas grain elevators are offering farmers 10 percent more for sorghum than for corn.
Because there is no futures market for sorghum, traders use corn futures to benchmark prices and manage risk.
In the first 11 months of 2014, shipments of U.S. sorghum to China jumped 5.7 million metric tons, with a value of $1.3 billion, from about 362,000 tons a year earlier, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The USDA estimates that the U.S. produced 433 million bushels of sorghum last year, up from 392 million bushels the previous year. That’s compared with 14.2 billion bushels of corn produced in 2014.
Chinese companies use sorghum in feed for pigs, chickens and ducks because it costs less for them to import it than to buy corn produced in China.
Analysts expect the higher demand and prices for sorghum to encourage U.S. growers to plant more of it. Sorghum requires less water than corn does, and seed costs are lower.
Sorghum Is Hot, and It’s Gluten-Free
While many U.S. farmers grappled with lower grain prices last year, Mike Baker had an ace up his sleeve: sorghum. The grain, long overshadowed by more-plentiful crops, suddenly is in high demand thanks to China’s soaring appetite for animal feed and a shift in its buying preferences away from foreign corn.
Read more at The Wall Street Journal
Demand from China helps sorghum exports
For many years grain sorghum was treated as a step-child within the feed grains community. One of the biggest market gains has come via increased trade with China. South central Kansas grain sorghum grower Adam Baldwin, witnessed this interest first-hand when he went on a U.S. As vice chairman of the
United Sorghum Check-off, he traveled with other producers to meet face-to-face with Chinese grain traders.
Read more at Midwestproducer
Demand for Sorghum at an All-Time High, Supply Needed
The market place for sorghum both domestically and internationally has steadily increased within the last five years. grain sorghum have already surpassed last year’s total just four months into the marketing year. “Demand for sorghum is at an all time high,” said Florentino Lopez, Sorghum Checkoff executive director.
Read more at Hoosier Ag Today
Keith Good: U.S. Sorghum Demand Spikes as China Imports Increase
David Kesmodel reported in today’s Wall Street Journal that, “While many U.S. “The grain, long overshadowed by more-plentiful crops, suddenly is in high demand [related graph] thanks to China’s soaring appetite for animal feed and a shift in its buying preferences away from foreign corn. sorghum …
Read more at Agfax
