Grain Sorghum Exports to China at Their Lowest in Over a Decade

By Landyn Young and Luis Ribera

In 2025, grain sorghum production for the United States totaled 10.2 million metric tons (MMT). This was led by Kansas, totaling 5.8 MMT, and Texas, 2.64 MMT. Colorado (497 thousand metric tons), Nebraska (494 TMT), and Oklahoma (479 TMT). Aside from a poor production year in 2022, the United States has averaged 9.35 MMT annually.

The U.S. is by far the largest sorghum exporter, followed by Australia and Argentina. In 2024, the United States exported 5.24 MMT of sorghum worth $1.38 billion, with China being the leading importer. From 2020-2024, China imported more than 83 percent of U.S. exported sorghum with an FOB value ranging from $1.32-2.14 billion each year. In 2024, sorghum exports to China from the United States totaled 4.63 MMT and $1.23 billion. Annually since 2020, less than 16.4 percent of U.S. sorghum exports have gone to the rest of the world. In recent years, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, and Djibouti follow China in terms of volume imported, but none have imported more than 20 TMT since 2020.

The ongoing tariff war has caused a decrease in Chinese imports of many U.S. products, including sorghum. In the partial year through July, only 82 TMT of sorghum have been exported; in the same time period in 2024, more than 3.24 MMT of sorghum were exported.