U.S. corn exports are on an aggressive pace, which is good for farmers nearly done with the 2016 corn harvest, U.S. Grains Council (USGC) President and CEO Tom Sleight told reporters at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting’s (NAFB’s) annual meeting last week.

In audio interviews, Sleight said the pace of exports was higher than in recent years, with purchases being made by countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and South America. Even Brazil has bought some U.S. corn following its own short crop.

Ethanol exports are also up, as well as exports of some meats produced with corn.

With commodity prices as low as they are, Sleight said exports are more important than ever and that he has assigned staff to both redouble efforts in solid markets like Mexico, Japan and South Korea and find new markets for U.S. grains in untraditional locations.

Global presence in 10 overseas offices is the most critical part of the Council’s market development efforts, Sleight said, helped by programs like last month’s Export Exchange, which brought 200 of the world’s top grain buyers to the United States.

The full audio interview is available here.