This week’s U.S. Grains Council’s (USGC’s) Chart of Note illustrates China’s dominance in purchasing U.S. sorghum for the marketing year from Sept. 1, 2014 to Aug. 31, 2015. As of Aug. 27, China accounted for 98 percent of U.S. sorghum exports, buying more than 8.3 million metric tons (326.8 million bushels).

U.S. sorghum was introduced into China through a joint effort between the Council and the United Sorghum Checkoff Program (USCP) in 2013. Since then, China has rapidly grown to become the top market for U.S. sorghum, and the Council and USCP have continued their efforts to promote U.S. sorghum through missions, trade teams and customer servicing.

Japan is currently the second largest market for U.S. sorghum, importing 113,900 metric tons (4.5 million bushels) so far this marketing year. In this market, the Council is working to promote white sorghum as a health food product by hosting tasting events, through targeted media advertisements and more.

The list of top U.S. sorghum importers is rounded out with Mexico, Canada and South Korea. While these markets are relatively small for U.S. sorghum this year, the Council will continue to monitor and foster these markets to build interest in the product.