U.S. gradually losing share of world markets

Dec 19, 2023

The United States is getting beaten up in crop export markets that it once dominated, says an analyst.

Brazil is body-slamming the U.S. in corn and soybean markets while Russia is pummeling it in the wheat market, DTN lead analyst Todd Hultman told delegates attending the company’s 2023 Virtual Ag Summit.

“Each year that goes by, that competition is getting stiffer and stiffer and we’re feeling more of the pain,” he said.

Two decades ago, the U.S. provided 50 to 60 percent of world corn and soybean exports. That has fallen to under 30 percent for both crops.

Its share of wheat exports has plunged to nine percent from 25 to 30 percent. This year’s wheat export program is expected to be the lowest in more than 50 years.

Brazil’s soybean acres have more than doubled over the last 15 years to 113 million harvested acres. Corn plantings have risen to 57 million acres from 25 million over that same period.

“Last year, Brazil became the world’s largest exporter of corn for the first time ever and it looks like they’re going to maintain that lead by a narrow margin here again this year,” said Hultman.

The country’s corn and soybean acres are growing by two to three percent per year and there is no end in sight.

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Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

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In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

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Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.